SWITCHING from weight loss jabs to a daily pill could prevent weight regain.
It could also prevent millions of Brits needing to take a handful of tablets for health conditions associated with excess weight, say scientists, such as high blood pressure, cholesterol or blood sugar.
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Scientists suggested even people who are not obese could one day take the pills to improve their health (stock image) Credit: Getty – Contributor
Weight loss injections are more powerful but they are expensive long-term Credit: Getty
Once-a-day pill orforglipron, made by Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly, is set to be available in the UK by late 2026 or early 2027.
A study presented at the European Congress on Obesity found patients stopping slimming jabs kept off up to 80 per cent of their weight loss long-term by switching to pills.
People were seven times more likely to keep the weight off for one year after stopping, compared to those who did not take the pill.
Dr Marie Spreckley, Research Programme Manager, University of Cambridge, said: “Many people do not want to remain on injectable therapy indefinitely due to treatment burden, convenience, travel, storage requirements, cost, or personal preference.
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“The possibility of transitioning to an oral therapy… could therefore represent an important additional option.
“However, there are important limitations to consider. The study duration was only one year, so we still do not know how durable these effects will be over longer periods of time.”
It is also not clear whether continuing to take weight loss jabs for maintenance would give better results.
Nearly four million people in the UK are estimated to be either using GLP-1 injections currently or to have used them in the past.
Switching to tablets also meant blood test results stayed healthier, cutting the risk of diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke.
Drug chiefs said obesity is linked to 200 health problems that the pills could help to tackle.
Experts hope they can also be given to overweight people before they get ill in the first place.
Age UK says that over-75s in Britain have an average of five separate prescriptions per month.
Dr Louis Aronne, from Cornell University in New York, said: “The average person we see in our centre is on seven medications.
“The idea is that you treat obesity first and don’t wait until someone has a severe problem.
“For hypertension [high blood pressure] you take a pill every day, diabetes you take a pill for life and hope the diabetes doesn’t come back.
“The beauty of treating obesity is you are treating all of these things.
“If we could treat obesity effectively, we wouldn’t need to treat all of the other heart risk factors and it could be highly cost effective.
“I think we are finally getting to the point where we have drugs that are effective enough that this is going to become a reality.”
The pill orforglipron is likely to be the go-to option for patients taking weight loss jabs Wegovy or Mounjaro who want to come off them.
Previous research showed most patients regain two thirds of the fat they lose with injections within a year of stopping.
Pills are less powerful but could be half the price as they are on sale for $149 per month in the US compared to $299 for the same supply of Mounjaro jabs.
Jason Murphy, head pharmacist at Chemist4U, said: “Next-generation weight loss pills will be game-changing.
“We could have millions more people accessing weight loss drugs than ever before as pills reshape the way we tackle obesity as a nation.”
