AstraZeneca’s Experimental Obesity Pill Shows Promising Results
AstraZeneca has revealed that patients in a mid-stage trial of its experimental obesity pill, elecoglipron, lost an average of 10.5% of their body weight after 26 weeks. The drugmaker is aiming to challenge established players like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly in the rapidly expanding weight-loss market.
The results showed that weight loss continued over time, with adults who received the highest dose of elecoglipron losing 11.8% of their weight after 36 weeks, which was the full duration of the trial. These findings were presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans.
In February, AstraZeneca announced that the trial had met its primary endpoints and would proceed to late-stage trials. However, detailed results were not provided at that time.
If the drug is successful in later trials and receives approval, it could compete directly with Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which resulted in approximately 14% weight loss, and Eli Lilly’s Foundayo, which achieved a 12% reduction in weight during a late-stage trial.
Following these developments, Roche also shared positive results from a mid-stage trial of its experimental obesity injection, enicepatide. Patients in the trial lost 22.7% of their body weight after 48 weeks. This dual-target drug is similar to Lilly’s Zepbound, which delivered more than 20% weight loss after 72 weeks in its pivotal trial.
Strategic Focus on Obesity Treatment
Sharon Barr, executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals research and development at AstraZeneca, emphasized that elecoglipron is a key component of the company’s obesity strategy. AstraZeneca plans to explore combinations of this drug with other medicines aimed at treating obesity and related conditions such as diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease.
The study involved 310 adults with obesity or overweight, along with at least one weight-related condition. Nearly 89% of participants receiving the highest dose achieved at least a 5% weight loss, meeting another goal of the trial.
At a lower dose of 50 mg, patients in the trial lost 8% of their body weight at 26 weeks and 9% at 36 weeks. The most common side effects reported were gastrointestinal issues such as nausea and constipation, which are typical for GLP-1 medications originally developed to manage blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes patients.
For the 75 mg dose of elecoglipron, the most frequent adverse events included:
- Nausea at 55%, compared to 20% in the placebo group
- Constipation at 41%, compared with 6% in the placebo group
- Diarrhoea at 35%, compared with 25% in the placebo group
- Vomiting at 27%, versus 5% in the placebo group
“We had a very low rate of discontinuation, which really points to the effectiveness and durability of this therapy,” Barr said.
Additional Trials and Licensing
In a separate trial involving people with type 2 diabetes, elecoglipron met its primary endpoint for controlling blood sugar. At the highest dose of 75 mg, it led to a weight loss of 7.7% at 26 weeks.
AstraZeneca licensed elecoglipron from China’s Eccogene in late 2023 for up to about $2 billion. This acquisition highlights the company’s commitment to expanding its presence in the obesity treatment market.
With ongoing trials and promising results, AstraZeneca is positioning itself as a major player in the global fight against obesity. The potential of elecoglipron to offer an effective, once-daily pill option could significantly impact how weight loss is managed in the coming years.
