New diabetes pill outperforms oral semaglutide in weight loss and blood sugar control

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By Ella Pickover, PA Media

Researchers have suggested a new once-a-day pill offers an “important advancement” in type 2 diabetes care over existing medication.

The medication, orforglipron, was evaluated against the only current tablet version of a GLP-1 receptor agonist – oral semaglutide.

Academics found that orforglipron helped patients get their blood sugar levels under control and had greater effects on weight loss compared with the current option.

Furthermore, orforglipron has the advantage of being taken without any restrictions on food or water intake, researchers said.

Oral semaglutide can only be taken in the morning on an empty stomach, some 30 minutes before a patient eats and has only consumed a small cup of water.

The international team of academics performed the study on 1,500 people with type 2 diabetes which is not controlled well with the current drug metformin.

These people were being cared for at 131 medical research centres and hospitals in Argentina, China, Japan, Mexico and the US.