Once-Daily GLP-1 Pill May Offer New Option for Weight Loss, Diabetes

Key TakeawaysAn experimental GLP-1 pill shows promiseThe drug elecoglipron helped people lose weight and control diabetes in two phase 2 clinical trialsThe pill is headed to confirmatory phase 3 trials.WEDNESDAY, June 10, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Another GLP-1 pill could be headed for the market soon, according to early clinical trial results.The once-daily experimental pill elecoglipron helped people control their blood sugar and lose weight in a pair of phase 2 clinical trials, researchers reported June 8 in The Lancet.Based on these results, elecoglipron will advance to extensive phase 3 clinical trials to confirm these benefits, the drug’s developer AstraZeneca said in a news release.Most GLP-1 drugs currently are delivered via weekly injections, although semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) now also comes in pill form.“Elecoglipron has the potential to offer people more treatment options that can meet their preferences and support their care goals,” said lead researcher Dr. Vanita Aroda, director of Diabetes Clinical Research at Mass General Brigham in Boston. “To date, GLP-1 therapies have largely been limited to injectable or oral peptide formulations, each with inherent delivery and dosing constraint,” she said in a news release. “Rigorous clinical trials … can help us evaluate oral medications that may be just as effective for patients with diabetes while overcoming these limitations.”Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs mimic the GLP-1 hormone, which helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, decreases appetite and slows digestion of food. Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes, the drugs now are also widely used to lose weight.One of the new clinical trials for elecoglipron focused on weight loss, and the other on the drug’s ability to help control blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes.In the weight-loss trial, researchers randomly assigned 310 adults to receive either a placebo pill or one of five doses of elecoglipron. All were either overweight or obese, based on their body mass index (BMI). (BMI is an estimate of body fat based on height and weight.) Here’s what the trial found:After 36 weeks, patients on the high dose of elecoglipron had lost nearly 12% of their initial body weight, compared with 0.3% in the placebo group.Overall, about 62% of people on the heavy dose of elecoglipron had lost at least 10% of their body weight by week 36, compared with under 5% of those on placebo.In the diabetes trial, the team randomly assigned more than 400 people with type 2 diabetes and excess weight to either a placebo tablet or different doses of elecoglipron.The trial focused on participants’ levels of hemoglobin A1C, which is used to track blood sugar control. Here's what the diabetes trial found:After 26 weeks, people taking high-dose elecoglipron had reduced their A1C by nearly 2% on average, compared with 0.2% in the placebo group.Overall, most people taking high-dose elecoglipron reached their blood sugar targets – 90% got their A1C under 7% and 85% got it under 6.5%.Folks taking elecoglipron for diabetes also lost nearly 8% of their body weight, compared with under 2% in the placebo group.The most common side effects reported in both clinical trials were nausea, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting.AstraZeneca paid for both clinical trials, which were also presented Monday at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in New Orleans.More informationHarvard Medical School has more on weight-loss medications.SOURCES: American Diabetes Association, news release, June 8, 2026; The Lancet, June 8, 2026 .What This Means For YouA new GLP-1 pill might soon offer people a new option for losing weight or controlling diabetes..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Once-Daily GLP-1 Pill May Offer New Option for Weight Loss, Diabetes

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