July 17 (Reuters) - Roche said on Wednesday its

CT-996, a new drug being developed to treat obesity and type 2

diabetes, has had positive results for weight loss in phase one

of its clinical trial.

Roche is among a growing number of would-be rivals to Novo

Nordisk and Eli Lilly ( LLY ), whose weight-loss

drugs have caused a storm in demand as experts up their sales

forecasts for such treatments to as much as $150 billion by the

early 2030s.

Data for Roche's oral drug, to be taken once daily, showed

that treatment resulted in a placebo-adjusted mean weight loss

of 6.1% within four weeks, the Swiss drugmaker said in a

statement.

The drug "was well-tolerated, with mostly mild or moderate

gastrointestinal-related adverse events, consistent with the

safety profile of the incretin drug class," according to the

statement.

"We are pleased to see the clinically meaningful weight loss

in people treated with our oral GLP-1 therapy CT-996, which

could eventually help patients address both chronic weight

management and glycaemic control indications," Chief Medical

Officer Levi Garraway said.

Based on the phase-one results, CT-996 will advance into

phase-two clinical development, Roche said.

Roche shares indicated 2% higher on premarket.