Structure Therapeutics $GPCR ( ▲ 4.77% ) is ripping higher this morning after unveiling mid-stage trial data for its oral weight-loss drug that nearly matches Eli Lilly’s $LLY ( ▲ 1.45% ) competing pill.
The biotech reported that patients lost about 11.3 percent of their body weight on a lower dose of its drug, aleniglipron. That result places it roughly beside Lilly’s orforglipron and just under Novo Nordisk’s $NVO ( ▲ 1.87% ) oral Wegovy, which has also been closely watched by investors.
Lilly and Novo are both awaiting regulatory approval for their pills and are expected to hit the market next year. Structure’s drug had encouraging efficacy, but trial data also showed higher rates of nausea and vomiting compared with rivals.
Investors have been hyperfocused on once-daily pills since they represent the next evolution of the GLP-1 boom. Oral drugs will likely be less potent than weekly injections, but they are cheaper to produce and far more appealing to the millions of patients who would rather avoid needles.