Orforglipron

What the number means

Mean change in body weight at 72 weeks on the 17.2 mg dose in adults without diabetes: 11.1% (24.9 lbs) against 2.1% (5.3 lbs) for placebo, from an average starting weight of about 227 lbs. Lilly also publishes 7.4% at 5.5 mg and 8.3% at 9 mg in the same study.

Trial averages are not a forecast for any individual. Response varies widely, the trial population was screened and supported in ways a subscription is not, and the figure describes people who stayed on the medication for the full period.

Worth knowing

• ◆The first oral small-molecule GLP-1 for weight management — not a peptide in a tablet, which is why it has no food-and-water timing restrictions of the kind oral semaglutide carries.
• ◆Six strengths, from a 0.8 mg starting dose to 17.2 mg. Lilly instructs that tablets be swallowed whole and not broken, crushed or chewed.
• ◆Self-pay pricing is published per dose and undercuts every injectable route at the low end: $149 at 0.8 mg rising to $349 at the top two doses.
• ◆The effect size sits between liraglutide and semaglutide. Its argument is the route of administration, not the magnitude.