Obesity specialist Louis Aronne has welcomed the arrival of a new weight-loss pill, saying it could give patients who prefer oral medication the same benefits as injections without loss of effectiveness.
Between 2023 and 2024, a report published in 2025, indicated that 64.5% of adults aged 18 and above in England were estimated to be overweight or living with obesity. This showed that, compared with the 2022 to 2023 report of 64.0%, the figure was higher, reflecting an overall upward trend since 2015 to 2016 (61.2%).
The treatment, known as Orforglipron, is being developed by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, the maker of Mounjaro.
Unlike injectable weight-loss drugs currently used by around 1.5 million people in the UK each week, Orforglipron is taken once daily in tablet form.
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Late-stage trials have shown promising results, with patients losing an average of 10.5% of their body weight compared with 2.2 per cent among those given a placebo.
Eli Lilly said the outcomes were similar to those achieved with its injection-based therapies.
Kenneth Custer, executive vice president at the firm, said the company was “moving with urgency” towards securing global regulatory approvals.
He added that the oral pill could make effective obesity treatment more accessible worldwide by removing barriers associated with injections.
In the UK, the drug could be available as early as 2026. Eli Lilly’s international president, Patrik Jonsson, said Britain would be among the first countries to receive it, predicting the product could be worth $100 billion (£75 billion) globally by 2030.
As well as weight management, the pill is also being studied for potential use against conditions such as obstructive sleep apnoea and high blood pressure in people living with obesity.
Eli Lilly has also hinted at longer-term ambitions, with senior executives suggesting their ultimate aim is a “once-and-done” treatment that could cure obesity permanently.
