A new once-a-day pill helps diabetes sufferers get their blood sugar levels under control and has greater effects on weight loss compared with current drugs, a study has found.
Researchers hailed it as an “important advancement” in type 2 diabetes care.
Diabetes UK said that it had the potential to “support more people to reduce their risk of type 2 diabetes and help tackle the impact of ill health caused by obesity”. It could be a new treatment option for people who prefer a pill to an injection.
The medication, orforglipron, was pitted against the only current tablet version of a GLP-1 receptor agonist – a type of medication prescribed for controlling blood sugar and weight loss.
Researchers said that orforglipron has the advantage of being taken without any restrictions on food or water intake.
The current version, 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. Semaglutide requires a prescription in the UAE and cost Dh700 to Dh3,000, depending on the dose and brand.
Obesity is a major risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, in which the body does not produce enough insulin or cells become resistant to the hormone. Conditions including cancer and heart disease are also more common in people with obesity.
The UAE has some of the highest obesity rates in the world, with about 30 per cent of women and 26 per cent of men in the UAE having the condition, figures from the Global Obesity Observer indicate. According to the study, 16.3 per cent of the UAE population has type 2 diabetes, one of the 15 highest rates in the world.
The international team of academics performed the study on 1,500 people with type 2 diabetes. They were cared for at 131 medical research centres and hospitals in Argentina, China, Japan, Mexico and the US.
People were given either orforglipron (12mg or 36mg) or oral semaglutide (7mg or 14mg) and took the drug for a year. Researchers found that orforglipron was “non-inferior and superior” to semaglutide for blood sugar level reduction.
Those involved started the study with an average body weight of 97kg and an average body mass index score of 35, meaning they were clinically classed as obese.
The research team reported that both groups taking orforglipron showed “significant” weight reductions from as early as four weeks into treatment.
People taking the new drug lost six to eight per cent of their body weight during the study period. Those taking semaglutide lost four to five per cent of their total body weight.
But the authors said that more people who took orforglipron reported side effects compared with the group who took oral semaglutide, with gastrointestinal the most frequent.
“Orforglipron represents an important advancement in the oral treatment landscape for type 2 diabetes,” the authors wrote in The Lancet.
“Its efficacy, safety, tolerability and simple dosing could address important barriers associated with current incretin-based therapies, offering a new highly efficacious and safe option for individuals seeking effective glycaemic and weight control without the use of injections or administration restrictions.”
Douglas Twenefour, head of clinical at Diabetes UK, said: “GLP-1 medications, alongside appropriate support, are effective tools for both weight loss and type 2 diabetes management, so we welcome these latest findings.
“It’s vital that people living with obesity and type 2 diabetes have access to a range of safe and effective treatments to ensure they can find the option that best fits their preference and clinical needs.”
