AstraZeneca reported on Monday that elecoglipron, an investigational once-daily obesity pill, produced a 10.5% mean reduction in body weight after 26 weeks in a mid-stage clinical trial. The company presented the detailed results at the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans.
Participants receiving the highest dose experienced further reductions as the study progressed, with an average weight decline of 11.8% at week 36, which corresponds to the full duration of the trial. AstraZeneca said weight loss continued over time during the observation period.
Earlier this year, AstraZeneca announced that the mid-stage study had met its primary endpoints and that the program would move into late-stage trials. At that time the company did not publish specific outcome data.
The results place elecoglipron in the context of a competitive field of obesity medicines. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy produced approximately 14% weight loss in its relevant trial, while Eli Lilly's Foundayo showed a 12% reduction in a late-stage study. AstraZeneca has noted that elecoglipron could be a competitor to those therapies if it succeeds in late-stage testing and secures regulatory approval.
Also presented at the same conference were mid-stage data from Roche showing a much larger mean reduction of 22.7% body weight after 48 weeks for its experimental injection enicepatide. That dual-target agent was compared in the presentation to Lilly's Zepbound, which demonstrated more than 20% weight loss after 72 weeks in its pivotal trial.
Context and implications
The mid-stage outcomes for elecoglipron indicate sustained weight loss through the trial duration, with stronger effects seen at the highest dose tested. The company will now focus on late-stage testing to determine whether these findings hold in larger populations and over longer periods.
- Timing: Results were unveiled at the American Diabetes Association meeting in New Orleans; the full trial reached 36 weeks for the highest dose cohort.
- Comparative efficacy: Elecoglipron's reductions are lower than some rivals' mid- and late-stage results but show continued downward trends during the study.
- Regulatory pathway: Advancement to late-stage trials follows the company's February statement that the mid-stage trial met primary endpoints.