Amid the booming weight loss drug market, drugmakers are racing to develop more convenient and effective obesity pills. Currently, most weight loss and diabetes drugs are administered through weekly injections, such as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. These injections, known as GLP-1 agonists, have seen a surge in popularity, prompting companies like Pfizer to enter the race for oral weight loss and diabetes medications.
Pills offer a more convenient and potentially more affordable option for patients compared to injections. Novo Nordisk’s low-dose oral version of semaglutide, marketed as Rybelsus, costs around $968.52 per month, while the current injections are priced at approximately $1,000 per month. Pfizer is advancing a once-daily version of its oral weight loss drug, danuglipron, following setbacks last year, where the company discontinued twice-daily and another oral obesity drug.
On the other hand, Eli Lilly is developing an oral GLP-1 called orforglipron, which showed promising weight loss results in a mid-stage trial. The company aims to release late-stage trial results on orforglipron in 2025. Novo Nordisk is also progressing with its high-dose oral semaglutide, which helped patients lose an average of 15% body weight after 68 weeks. The company is planning to file for FDA approval in 2023.
Additionally, Novo Nordisk has introduced an experimental weight loss pill called amycretin, showing positive results in suppressing appetite and promoting weight loss. Other drugmakers like Pfizer are also in the process of developing oral drugs for obesity, diabetes, or a combination of both.
Overall, the digital health sector is showing signs of growth, with digital health startups raising significant funding in the first half of 2024. Artificial intelligence continues to attract investors, especially in early-stage digital health companies. The digital health IPO market is also picking up, with several companies going public in recent months.
As the year progresses, it will be interesting to see how drugmakers innovate in the weight loss drug market and how the digital health sector continues to evolve. Stay tuned for more updates on these developments.
