PARIS, France (AFP) — A daily pill that is cheaper and easier to take than currently available weight loss drugs helps people lose around a 10th of their body weight over nearly 18 months, a study said Thursday.

A new generation of appetite-suppressing drugs called GLP-1 agonists — which includes blockbuster brands Ozempic and Mounjaro — has become massively popular in recent years. However these treatments require regular injections, refrigeration and can be prohibitively expensive.

With an immense amount of money at stake, pharmaceutical firms have been racing to be the first to market with a simpler pill that harnesses GLP-1’s weight loss powers.

The study published in The Lancet medical journal on Thursday tested out a new needle-free drug called orforglipron developed by United States (US) pharma giant Eli Lilly, which also makes Mounjaro.

More than 1,500 adults across 10 countries with both obesity and type two diabetes took the pill daily alongside advice to eat a healthy diet and exercise.

Participants on the highest dose of 36 milligrams lost around 10 per cent of their body weight after 72 weeks, compared to two per cent for the group taking a placebo, according to the study.

This is similar to research published earlier this year that found that people with obesity but not diabetes lost around 12 per cent of their body weight while taking the pill.

These figures are still well below the 22 per cent of body weight lost by people taking the weekly injectable Mounjaro over the same time period.

The side effects seen during the latest trial reflected those already observed for injectable GLP-1 drugs, including nausea, vomiting, constipation and diarrhoea — particularly at higher doses.

“It is exciting to have an oral medication that provides double-digit weight loss, which on average was 23 pounds (10 kilograms),” lead study author Deborah Horn of UTHealth Houston said in a statement.

If orforglipron is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, it is “scheduled to be available in 2026 at a significantly decreased cost compared to current injectables”, she added.

Injectable GLP-1s can cost over US$1,000 a month in the US. Some experts have called for pharma firms to make cheap generic versions — which research shows can be produced for US$4 a month — available in poorer nations where they could save the most lives.

More than 3.7 million people died from illnesses related to obesity or being overweight globally in 2021 — more than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV combined, according to the World Health Organization.

GLP-1 drugs were originally developed for diabetes but research has suggested they could help with an expanding range of health problems including heart disease, sleep apnoea and even addiction.