According to a 2025 poll by KFF (formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation), one in eight adults in the U.S. is taking a GLP-1 drug. These medications — the most recognizable are Ozempic® and Wegovy® — were used initially to treat type 2 diabetes, but are now widely used, along with lifestyle and dietary changes, to treat obesity as well
GLP-1 drugs are commonly administered either once a day or once a week (depending on the brand) by injection. That’s because the active ingredients in the drugs are quickly broken down by digestive enzymes, rendering the drugs inactive, while injections bypass the digestive system and avoid this problem, Neda Rasouli told Discover
Rasouli is an endocrinologist and professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz. Though injections are ideal for delivering the medicine, they’re not ideal for many patients. Giving yourself a shot every day, or even once a week, is not most people’s idea of fun. Researchers have been working to develop oral forms of these medications, and in the last year they’ve potentially hit the jackpot
GLP-1 Injections Could Be a Thing of the Past
In April 2026, the FDA approved an oral GLP-1 drug called orforglipron (marketed as Foundayo), according to a report in JAMA. Orforglipron is not the first oral GLP-1. Oral semaglutide had already been approved for type 2 diabetes, and in 2025, the FDA approved an oral form of Wegovy. The medicine in oral Wegovy is the same as in the injectable version, but there’s much more of it
That means enough of the drug will survive the digestive enzymes to provide the needed dose. It’s welcomed by patients who are uncomfortable with the shots. However, orforglipron, which is roughly as effective as other GLP-1 drugs, takes a different approach, and one that solves more problems than just needle phobia
For one thing, the dosing of orforglipron is much simpler. Oral Wegovy must be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. You can’t drink more than four ounces of water with the pill, and you cannot eat, drink, or take any other medication for half an hour after taking it
Orforglipron, on the other hand, is taken once a day with or without food. This dosing schedule is possible because of its molecular structure. While other GLP-1 drugs, including oral Wegovy, are peptides (molecules made up of short chains of amino acids), orforglipron is a non-peptide small molecule, explained Rasouli, who leads clinical trials of the new drug
Unlike peptides, which are easily broken down in the gut and make the medicine less available to the body, the small molecule orforglipron is not sensitive to the acidic environment in the intestines and is easily absorbed into the bloodstream
Easier to Distribute
Because it’s a non-peptide small molecule drug, orforglipron is easier and less expensive to manufacture, Rasouli said. Peptides, on the other hand, require a far more complex production process. In addition, storing and shipping orforglipron is simpler because the drug doesn’t require refrigeration, she added
Those advantages are even bigger than they might seem at first glance
Gitanjali Srivastava, director of Clinical Obesity Medicine and co-director of the Weight Loss Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, put it like this: “For the first time we have an obesity drug whose supply can actually meet global disease burden instead of rationing to whoever has commercial insurance and a refrigerator.”
Srivastava is already using orforglipron with her patients, and most are doing well, she said. However, she pointed out that while oral dosing solves the needle-aversion problem, daily dosing creates seven chances to miss a dose rather than one. Also, she said that roughly a third of patients experience nausea
“A pill you stop taking works exactly as well as an injection you stop taking,” she said
Srivastava also noted that many prescriptions for orforglipron are written by primary care physicians rather than endocrinologists
“Oral GLP-1s are moving obesity treatment into the primary care setting,” she said
This article is not offering medical advice and should be used for informational purposes only
Read More: Slowing Biological Aging May Be GLP-1 Drugs’ Next Medical Frontier
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-qualitycuracy and editorial standards. Review the
- This article references information from a KFF Poll: KFF Health Tracking Poll: Prescription Drug Costs, Views on Trump Administration Actions, and GLP-1 Use
- This article references information from a study published in JAMA: FDA Approves GLP-1 Obesity Pill Without Food or Water Restrictions
- This article references information from Lilly Investors: FDA approves Lilly’s Foundayo™ (orforglipron), the only GLP-1 pill for weight loss that can be taken any time of day without food or water restrictions
