Orforglipron: An Oral GLP-1 Receptor Agonist for Obesity Treatment

To describe the properties of a newly approved oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of obesity.

A literature search of MEDLINE and SCOPUS was performed without date range exclusions using the search terms orforglipron and obesity. Additional articles were identified from review of clinical trial bibliographies and product monograph.

Two phase 1 studies in healthy individuals and in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and 4 phase 2/3 clinical trials specifically evaluating orforglipron use for obesity were identified for analysis, using no date exclusion criteria.

Orforglipron was evaluated in 4 phase 2/3 trials regarding its efficacy for weight loss. These trials showed a mean 7.1% to 10.6% placebo-adjusted weight reduction with orforglipron. Adverse events seen with its use were primarily gastrointestinal.Relevance to Patient Care and Clinical Practice in Comparison With Existing Drugs:Orforglipron provides an oral weight management option that is potentially more effective than liraglutide, similarly effective compared with semaglutide, and less effective than tirzepatide. As a non-injectable option that does not require strict oral administration parameters, orforglipron has advantages in certain patient populations.

Orforglipron is a potentially useful addition for the treatment of obesity, but it still requires additional data on efficacy in treatment of obesity-related comorbidities for full comparison.