An experimental daily weight loss pill has demonstrated promising results, enabling trial participants to reduce their body weight by over 10 per cent within a six-month period.
Separately, research suggests that elecoglipron, developed by AstraZeneca, also holds promise for improving blood sugar levels in individuals living with type 2 diabetes.
The medication functions as a GLP-1 receptor agonist, a category of drugs designed to emulate the natural GLP-1 hormone. Its action stimulates insulin production, slows digestive processes, and effectively curbs appetite.
A key distinction of elecoglipron is its administration as a daily tablet, rather than an injection.
It also does not have the fasting requirements often associated with other weight loss pills, which typically mandate consumption on an empty stomach 30 minutes prior to eating.
Elecoglipron has been trialled in two phase II studies by AstraZeneca – Solstice and Vista – which are published in the Lancet.
The Vista trial included more than 300 people recruited from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, the UK, and the US.
All were overweight or obese but were living without type 2 diabetes.
Patients were either given different doses of elecoglipron or a placebo.
The trial found that the drug led to “clinically meaningful and progressive weight loss”.
At its highest dose – 75mg – elecoglipron helped patients lose 10.5 per cent body weight at 26 weeks, compared to 0.6 per cent in the placebo group, increasing to 11.8 per cent at 36 weeks.
The drug also helped lower blood pressure and inflammation.
Researchers said the “sustained reduction in bodyweight up to 36 weeks without evidence of a plateau suggests that maximal weight loss might not have been reached by six months”.
Melanie Davies, a professor of diabetes medicine at the University of Leicester, honorary consultant diabetologist at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and principal investigator for Vista, added: “Despite huge progress in the field of obesity management, significant opportunity remains to deliver broader, sustainable and more meaningful health benefits for the billions of people living with obesity or weight-related complications.
“The Vista results show that people receiving once-daily oral elecoglipron achieved significant weight loss as well as lower blood pressure and systemic inflammation, demonstrating its potential to treat both obesity and its related complications.”
Elsewhere, Solstice included more than 400 people in the US with a body mass index of more than 23 and type 2 diabetes who were divided into eight treatment groups, receiving different doses of elecoglipron or a placebo.
The study found that the drug was more effective at lowering blood sugar and helping patients lose weight when compared to those taking the placebo.
Researchers said: “Elecoglipron administration requires no food or fluid restrictions and could provide a convenient and accessible treatment option for those living with type 2 diabetes.”
They added that the number of pounds shed increased with dosage after 26 weeks.
Almost three quarters of people taking elecoglipron lost at least 5 per cent of their bodyweight after six months compared to 20.2 per cent in the placebo group.
The most common side effects of the drugs reported across both trials were nausea, diarrhoea, constipation and vomiting.
Sharon Barr, executive vice president of bioPharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, said the findings give the company “confidence” as phase III trials of the drug get under way.
“The progression of elecoglipron is an important step in delivering a differentiated weight management portfolio, offering monotherapies and combinations, designed to address the biological complexity of obesity and comorbidities that can be tailored to individual needs, enabling people to live healthier lives,” she said.