By Adriano Marchese

Eli Lilly said new data from its phase 3 trial of its investigational diabetes pill showed positive results in improving blood sugar levels, outperforming Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide.

The pharmaceutical giant said Wednesday that it received positive topline results from Achieve-3, the company's phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of orforglipron.

The drug, which is meant to treat type 2 diabetes, was compared with Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide, and showed greater improvements in blood sugar levels, known as A1C, and greater weight loss.

After one year, orforglipron met the primary and all key secondary endpoints across each dose comparison compared with oral semaglutide.

Even at the lower dose, orforglipron outperformed both doses of oral semaglutide in reducing A1C, the company said.

Meanwhile, at the highest dose, orforglipron helped nearly three times as many participants reach near-normal blood sugar compared with the highest dose of oral semaglutide.

"These results, combined with orforglipron's once-daily oral dosing and broad scalability, reinforce its potential as a foundational treatment for type 2 diabetes," said President of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health Kenneth Custer.

Last month, Lilly said a third late-stage study of the experimental anti-obesity pill hit its key goals, paving the way for the drugmaker to begin regulatory submissions.

A phase 3 study of orforglipron in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes met the primary and all key secondary endpoints at all three doses, showing significant weight loss, meaningful A1C reductions and improvements in cardiometabolic risk factors at 72 weeks.

Write to Adriano Marchese at adriano.marchese@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2025 09:59 ET (13:59 GMT)

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