*

Lilly's orforglipron shows superior weight loss and blood

sugar

control

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Highest dose of the pill leads to 9.2% weight reduction

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Detailed trial results to be presented at future medical

meeting

Sept 17 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) on Wednesday said

its experimental pill led to more weight loss and better control

of blood sugar in patients with diabetes than oral semaglutide,

the active ingredient in Danish rival Novo Nordisk's

diabetes and weight-loss medicines.

The late-stage head-to-head trial compared two different

doses of the two drugs on patients with diabetes to assess

glycemic control and weight loss. Two groups received either a

12 mg or 36 mg dose of orforglipron. Two other groups received

either a 7 mg or 14 mg dose of oral semaglutide.

Novo sells the oral semaglutide under the brand name

Rybelsus for patients with type 2 diabetes to control blood

sugar.

U.S. regulators are also reviewing a 25 mg dose of oral

semaglutide that Novo is developing for people who are

overweight or obese.

Both Lilly and Novo, which are market leaders with their

injectable drugs, are racing to launch their obesity pills,

which still require approval by the Food and Drug

Administration.

In the trial, which enrolled 1,698 adults with type 2

diabetes, Lilly's orforglipron showed greater improvements in

A1C - a measure of blood sugar over time - meeting the main goal

of the study.

Patients who took the highest 36 mg dose of Lilly's drug

lost an average of 8.9 kgs (19.7 lb) or 9.2% of their weight

compared to 5 kgs (11 lb) or 5.3% with the 14 mg dose of oral

semaglutide.

Orforglipron is a small-molecule pill that is easier to

manufacture and package than wildly popular injectable drugs for

obesity, such as Lilly's Zepbound and Novo's Wegovy, which are

peptide mimics of the appetite-controlling GLP-1 hormone.

Orforglipron appeared stronger across the board, with even

the lower dose outperforming the highest approved dose of oral

semaglutide, Kenneth Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic

Health, told Reuters. He added that the company would not

hesitate to compare the drugs in other indications.

"Orforglipron represents the most promising approach to

creating an effective small-molecule GLP-1," Custer said.

Lilly's once-daily pill lowered patients' A1C by 2.2% at the

36 mg dose and by 1.9% at the 12 mg dose. That compared with an

A1C reduction of 1.4% for patients taking the 14 mg dose of oral

semaglutide and 1.1% for those on the 7 mg dose.

Detailed results from the trial will be presented at a

future medical meeting, Lilly said.