Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy pill has achieved an average weight loss of 16.6% — compared to 2.7% weight loss with the placebo — in the phase 3 Oasis 4 clinical trial in obesity.
Oral Wegovy is 25 mg of semaglutide taken once daily. In the trial, more than one third of participants lost 20% or more of their body weight, which was consistent with injectable Wegovy. Participants also improved in their ability to perform everyday physical activities and saw improvements in cardiovascular risks. The safety and tolerability of oral semaglutide was also comparable to injectable Wegovy.
The FDA accepted Novo's NDA submission for the once-daily, 25 mg oral formulation of Wegovy for chronic weight management in adults living with obesity or overweight with one or more comorbid conditions this past May. The FDA review is expected to be complete by the end of this year.
On September 17, Lilly announced the results of head-to-head phase 3 clinical trials that compared its oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron to Wegovy in a pill. At the highest doses, orforglipron lowered A1C by 2.2% compared to 1.4% with oral semaglutide. It also led to an average weight loss of 19.7 lbs (9.2%) compared to 11.0 lbs (5.3%) with oral semaglutide.