AstraZeneca’s New Oral GLP-1 Led to 10.5% Weight Loss

• A new GLP-1 oral medication from AstraZeneca, known as elecoglipron, lowered blood sugar levels and led to 10.5% weight loss in a phase 2b clinical trial.
• Experts say GLP-1 drugs in tablet form may encourage more people to take these medications to help treat type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• When using any GLP-1 medication, it’s still important to maintain a healthy lifestyle, including regular exercise and a balanced diet.

A new GLP-1 oral tablet has shown promising results in a phase 2b clinical trial for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Officials at AstraZeneca report that their new medication, elecoglipron, helped people with type 2 diabetes reduce blood glucose levels and lose 10.5% of their body weight at 26 weeks.

The first oral pill was Rybelsus, a tablet manufactured by Novo Nordisk, initially approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2019 for adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

In December 2025, the FDA approved a new Wegovy pill, also manufactured by Novo Nordisk, for weight loss treatment. In April, FDA officials gave the green light to Foundayo, an oral tablet manufactured by Eli Lilly, which is also used for weight management.

Experts not involved in AstraZeneca’s trial say the results are a promising step toward treating type 2 diabetes and obesity.

“It’s exciting to see another new oral medication that reinforces the positive effects of non-injectable GLP-1 medications,” said Pouya Shafipour, MD, a family and obesity medicine physician at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in California.

“The GLP-1 agonist market is expanding quickly and this study’s results indicate there may eventually be another oral GLP-1 agonist on the market if the phase 3 trial is successful and if the manufacturer seeks FDA approval,” added Marilyn Tan, MD, an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at Stanford University.

The phase 2b SOLSTICE randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial involved 406 adults with type 2 diabetes. The participants were from nine countries, including the United States.

The trial, which was funded by AstraZeneca, tested different starting doses, dose-escalation schemes, and maintenance doses over a 26-week period. The participants were assigned to different treatment groups, including those given a placebo.

Researchers reported that nearly 90% of participants who took the medication achieved an HbA1c level of 7%, the standard target for average blood glucose levels. That compared with about 25% of participants who were administered a placebo.

The researchers added that 72% of participants in the treatment groups achieved at least a 5% weight reduction with an average of 10.5% at 26 weeks. They also reported that the safety and tolerability of elecoglipron were similar to those of other GLP-1 medications at this stage of development.

Shafipour noted that elecoglipron is still in the early stages of testing. He said a phase 3 clinical trial is necessary to determine the new drug’s effectiveness and safety.

“So far, however, from the data that’s been collected, it looks like it’s very effective,” Shafipour told Healthline.

Tan was equally encouraged.

“Newer agents appear to be more effective at A1c and weight lowering, and it’s a very exciting time for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity when the new GLP-1 agonists are able to achieve more robust A1c lowering than any other existing diabetes medication other than insulin,” she told Healthline. “The weight loss is also beneficial for multiple other metabolic diseases associated with obesity.”

GLP-1 medications were originally utilized to treat type 2 diabetes by lowering blood glucose levels.

Since then, researchers have reported that GLP-1 medications may also help with heart health, along with other benefits.

Mir Ali, MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, said GLP-1 medications have changed the medical landscape, especially in the treatment of obesity.

“They’re the best option we have right now,” he told Healthline. “They’ve created a shift in thinking in terms of treating obesity as a long-term chronic condition.”

“They have really adjusted treatment to a more metabolic approach,” added Shafipour.

Shafipour said there are advantages to having GLP-1 medications in pill form.

For starters, there are patients who are not comfortable using needles to administer drugs. In addition, the injectable medications need to be refrigerated and aren’t as easy to transport as pills to locations away from home. They can also be more expensive than pills.

However, Shafipour noted that the oral tablets need to be taken daily rather than the once-weekly injections. The injectable drugs, he added, tend to be more effective because they are absorbed directly into the bloodstream.

Shafipour added that people should know that GLP-1 medications in any form are part of a long-term strategy that requires a person to adopt a healthy lifestyle.

“They are fundamentally changing treatment, but they are not quick fixes,” he said.

Tan advised people to educate themselves about GLP-1 medications before they start using them.

“People should discuss the appropriateness of the medication with their healthcare provider,” she said. “Every medication has risks and contraindications, and many of them are very nuanced and required educated, shared decision making between an individual and their healthcare provider.”

The American Diabetes Association (ADA) reports that about 40 million people in the United States are living with type 2 diabetes. More than 10 million of those cases are undiagnosed.

The association adds that about 28% of people 65 years of age and older have diabetes.

In addition, more than 115 million U.S. adults are living with prediabetes.

The symptoms of type 2 diabetes can be initially mild, although they can worsen over time. The common symptoms include:

• constant hunger
• excessive thirst
• fatigue
• frequent urination
• blurry vision
• numbness in hands or feet

Type 2 diabetes differs from type 1 diabetes, which is an autoimmune condition in which insulin-producing cells in the pancreas stop producing the hormone. Genetics plays a major role in the development of type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes can be treated with medication, but it can also be managed and even reversed in many cases with lifestyle modifications. These lifestyle adjustments include:

• eating at regular intervals
• eating fiber-rich foods and healthy carbohydrates
• avoiding foods that contain sugar and animal fats
• managing weight on a long-term basis
• exercising at least 30 minutes daily

Ali said lifestyle habits are crucial to long-term success in weight management. “The whole goal when prescribing GLP-1 medications is to help people switch to a healthy diet and lifestyle,” he said.