Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 drug orforglipron, marketed as Foundayo for chronic weight management, elicited better blood sugar control than competing diabetes drugs including Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide, according to data presented June 9 at the American Diabetes Association conference.
The findings come from three Phase 3 studies in the ACHIEVE clinical program. In ACHIEVE-3, Foundayo was compared head-to-head with Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide (marketed as Wegovy for weight loss). ACHIEVE-2 used AstraZeneca’s Farxiga as a control and ACHIEVE-5 used placebo plus insulin glargine. At the 52-week follow-up in ACHIEVE-3, a 9-mg dose of Foundayo led to a 1.9% reduction in HbA1c levels compared to a 1.1% decrease with 7-mg semaglutide. Higher doses of Foundayo also maintained this advantage.
In terms of weight loss, the study reported that 17.2 mg of Foundayo produced 73.6% greater weight loss than 14 mg oral semaglutide in ACHIEVE-3. The other two trials also showed positive results for Foundayo: it reduced HbA1c by an average of 1.7% at week 40 versus Farxiga controls and up to an average of 2.1% versus placebo plus insulin glargine.
BMO Capital Markets analysts said in a note that, “orforglipron demonstrated clear benefits in HbA1c reduction and weight loss as an add-on to metformin or insulin glargine when compared to dapagliflozin, semaglutide or placebo.” They added that, “the consistency of these data across treatment combinations and comparator arms continues to position orforglipron well in the broader landscape of oral T2D therapeutics.”
With these new data, Lilly announced plans for another regulatory submission for type 2 diabetes during the second quarter this year. BMO wrote, “We continue to see an opportunity for orforglipron to compete as a once daily oral treatment with room for multiple winners in T2D.”
Foundayo was approved earlier this year following its performance against injectable competitors but faces ongoing competition from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which received Food and Drug Administration approval late last year.
