Oral semaglutide, which Novo has taken to calling “Wegovy in a pill,” is expected to receive an FDA decision before the end of the year.
As both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly race to develop their long-anticipated oral GLP-1 obesity meds, a new report shows one taking a clear lead among potential prescribers.
Spherix Global Insights surveyed about 100 primary care physicians and endocrinologists about several of the obesity drugs currently under development, including Novo’s oral semaglutide and injectable CagriSema, as well as Lilly’s own oral med, orforglipron.
The survey showed that while most of the doctors didn’t have top-of-mind awareness of oral semaglutide’s upcoming FDA decision in obesity, they did report high levels of familiarity with the med—since it’s been approved since 2019 for Type 2 diabetes and marketed in that indication as Rybelsus.
Likely due to that familiarity, many of the doctors showed enthusiasm about oral semaglutide’s potential expansion into obesity, with around 90% of the group saying they expect to prescribe it within the first six months of its launch.
The PCPs, in particular, were most excited about oral semaglutide among the three upcoming obesity meds: More than 70% chose it as their most-preferred weight-loss agent in development. The endocrinologists surveyed, meanwhile, showed an almost equal three-way split among the meds, though CagriSema—which combines semaglutide with cagrilintide—nosed ahead with 36% of their votes.
“Given the strong pre-launch prescribing intentions, oral semaglutide is poised for swift market uptake upon FDA approval,” the Spherix analysts concluded, though they warned that “Novo Nordisk will need robust promotional efforts to counter currently low top-of-mind awareness and ensure prescribers are promptly informed of the approval once it occurs.”
Oral semaglutide, which Novo has taken to calling “Wegovy in a pill,” is expected to receive an FDA decision before the end of the year.
In a September release sharing study results for the treatment, Novo said it had already begun manufacturing the pill to be ready to meet demand upon its official launch.
Those study results showed that oral Wegovy patients saw an average weight loss of 16.6% after 64 weeks, similar to the results for injectable semaglutide, per Novo.
The data drop came shortly after Lilly posted results for orforglipron, showing that its oral obesity med helped patients lose an average of 12.4% of their body weight at 72 weeks. The Indianapolis Big Pharma has said it plans to submit orforglipron for FDA review in obesity this year and in Type 2 diabetes next year.
