Australian tech health providers say they are willing to sell an oral pill version of an Ozympic-style weight loss drug if it is approved for local use, after US authorities approved a new formulation overnight.
Local health companies Mosh, My Weight Loss Clinic and Eucalyptus – whose brands include Pilot and Juniper – all said they are now waiting for Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to follow the steps of its US counterpart, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which on Wednesday approved the new drug company Eli Weight.
Lilly’s drug, orforglipron, which will be sold in the US under the brand name Foundayo, is a daily oral medication that targets the GLP-1 hormone. Patients taking the drug in the 72-week trial lost 12 percent of their body weight, while participants in the previous 36-week trial lost an average of 15 percent of their body weight.
Lilly said it will begin selling Foundayo on April 6 through its direct-to-consumer program for a very low dose of US$149 ($215) per month., On par with a new prescription pill from rival Novo Nordisk, which has launched Ozympic for diabetes and Wegway for obesity. The Novo Nordisk oral version of Vigovi was launched in the United States in January to strong demand.
Dr Kieran Dang, chief medical officer at Mosh – which currently offers injectable Ozympic-style GLP-1 therapy – stressed the importance of waiting for TGA approval, which some in the industry expect sometime this year, but was optimistic about how Lilly’s new pill could help patients.
“Many Australians have an aversion to needles, and options like Eli Lilly’s Orforglipron can make this treatment more accessible and easier to stick with longer,” Dang said on Thursday morning.
Dang also said oral formulations offer other advantages such as not requiring cold chain storage which increases their shelf life, as well as being cheaper and easier to distribute to regional and remote Australians.
“Finally, Mosh is pleased to be able to give our patients more choice,” said Dang.
Chris O’Donnell, chief executive of My Weight Loss Clinic, said he was “very excited” by orforglipron, noting that it may be sold under the US name Foundayo once it receives approval and is sold in the Australian market.
O’Donnell said his company was in constant contact with Eli Lilly and other drugmakers, but was particularly interested in orforgliprone because it has less strict rules around consumption than the Vigovi pill.
“We’re very excited about this, especially because it will not only work to give patients smaller stomachs, but also help with heart, liver and pancreas health, and help people live without chronic diseases,” he said. “It’s (waiting) for TGA approval, when that comes,” O’Donnell said.
Tim Doyle, co-founder and CEO of Eucalyptus, said on Thursday “we will definitely be supplying both Wegoway and Foundio when they hit our markets”.
After the FDA approval was announced on Wednesday, Lilly CEO David Rex told reporters that his company’s new pill would be suitable for patients looking to lose weight or lose weight, and that the company had submitted the drug for approval in 40 countries.
“We expect approvals in many major markets this year. The Gulf states are one of the areas that are moving a little faster, so that will be one,” Rex said.
Lilly pills can be taken at any time of the day with or without food compared to Vigovi pills, which should be taken first thing in the morning and 30 minutes before any food, water or other medications.
“In the early stages, investors will be watching closely to see if Foundayo’s lack of food impact makes any difference in patient appeal,” BMO analyst Evan Segerman said in a research note.
Lilly shares rose 6 percent on the news, while U.S.-listed shares fell slightly after the announcement of the new share approval.
Many oral Vigo patients are taking GLP-1 for the first time, a sign that the pill could take a share of the non-injectable weight-loss market, said Jamie Miller, executive director of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk.
Miller said that patients on oral wegwe have no problem taking the pill as directed and that affordability and side effects are important factors for patients when choosing a medication.
Oral weight-loss drugs are not expected to completely replace injections, which can lead to more weight loss, but analysts estimate that pills will take about 20 percent of the market by 2030.
The most commonly reported side effects of Lilly’s Oral Weight Loss Pills were mild gastrointestinal issues such as nausea and vomiting. The Fondue label also comes with a boxed warning — the FDA’s most serious label addition — advising of an increased risk of thyroid C-cell tumors. New oral and injectable Vigovi warn against this.
With Reuters
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Elias Wisentai is the national consumer affairs reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Contact by email.From our colleagues
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