A weight loss pill allowed patients to lose 12.4% of their body weight in 72 weeks during an advanced phase study.
Participants in the clinical trial having received the highest dose of the drug called Orforglipron from the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, or 36 mg, would have lost an average of 12.4 % of their body weight, against only 0.9 % for the control group, depending on what reports The Guardian.
This type of medication reduces blood sugar levels, reducing appetite and slowing down digestion, according to the study which brought together more than 3000 participants.
The clinical trial has also shown other health benefits of participants, including an improvement in cholesterol levels, blood pressure and the risk of heart disease.
The results of this study suggest that the drug could constitute a more practical and less costly alternative to injectable treatments that are currently available.
Results still at the preliminary stage
The test has not yet been the subject of an evaluation by peers and its results are therefore preliminary.
Kenneth Custer, president of Eli Lilly, said: “With Orforglipron, we strive to transform the care of obesity by introducing a single daily oral treatment that could promote early intervention and long -term management of the disease, while offering a practical alternative to injection treatments.”
“With this positive data, we now plan to submit orforglipron to examining the regulatory authorities by the end of the year and we are ready to launch it globally in order to meet this urgent need for public health.”
Dr. Simon Cork, professor in the Physiology Department of Anglia Ruskin University, in Cambridge, in the United Kingdom, said that, even if the preliminary results on efficiency constituted a “positive advance”, they had to be interpreted with caution.
He added: “It should be noted that these are preliminary results, not evaluated by peers, and that we will have to examine the methodology and complete data of the test before being able to undertake a more in -depth analysis.”