New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% <a href="https://healthylife7.com/uk-medicines-regulator-approves-new-weight-loss-pill/" title="UK medicines regulator approves new weight loss pill”>weight loss in 36 weeks
Date:
August 10, 2026
Source:
Northwestern Medicine
Summary:
An experimental GLP-1 pill helped people with obesity or overweight lose as much as 12.1% of their body weight in just 36 weeks. Unlike injectable drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic, aleniglipron is a small molecule that can be taken once daily with or without food and could potentially be produced more easily at scale.
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FULL STORY
A new oral approach to GLP-1 treatment helped adults with obesity or overweight lose as much as 12 percent of their body weight over 36 weeks, according to a randomized phase II clinical trial published in Nature Medicine
Robert Kushner, MD, ’82 GME, professor emeritus of Medicine in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism and Molecular Medicine, was a co-author of the study
A GLP-1 Drug That Comes as a Pill
Aleniglipron differs from currently available GLP-1 drugs (glucagon-like peptide 1) such as semaglutide, which is sold as Ozempic and Wegovy. Instead of being a peptide-based injectable medication, aleniglipron is a small-molecule drug taken by mouth and is being developed as a treatment for obesity
GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking the naturally occurring GLP-1 hormone. Their effects include stimulating insulin secretion, reducing appetite and increasing feelings of fullness, which can support weight loss
Although existing peptide-based GLP-1 medications can be highly effective, access remains limited for many patients. These drugs require injections, creating an additional barrier for some people. They also pose storage challenges (refrigeration) and can be difficult and costly to manufacture at the scale needed to meet demand
Small-molecule GLP-1 drugs could address some of those limitations because they can be taken orally and may be easier to manufacture in large quantities, Kushner said
“The difference with aleniglipron is it’s a small molecule, which means it’s chemically made and could be taken with or without food. Most medications we take, whether it’s aspirin or blood pressure medicine, are small molecules. They’re chemicals that you make structurally, and because of that you can potentially combine them with other medications,” Kushner said
Testing Aleniglipron in 230 Adults
For the placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial, researchers evaluated the safety of aleniglipron in 230 adults (average age of 50 years) with obesity or overweight at 38 U.S. medical centers
Participants were randomly assigned to one of three dose groups: 45, 90 or 120 milligrams. They took aleniglipron orally once each day, with doses increased every four weeks, or received placebo. Treatment continued for a total of 36 weeks
Side Effects and Next Steps
Gastrointestinal side effects were generally mild to moderate across the treatment groups and became less frequent as the study progressed. Overall, 10.4 percent of participants discontinued treatment, and researchers reported no cases of drug-induced liver injury
Kushner said the results support continued development of alenglipron as an obesity treatment and further evaluation of its effectiveness in an upcoming phase III trial
“We didn’t find any concerns; no new safety signals. We found a dose that seems to be effective, and the dose escalation will be slowed down further as we go into phase III trial to increase tolerability,” Kushner said
This work was supported by Structure Therapeutics
Story Source:
Materials provided by Northwestern Medicine. Original Note: Content may be edited for style and length
Journal Reference:
- Julio Rosenstock, Ildiko Lingvay, Donna Ryan, Ania M. Jastreboff, Robert Kushner, Andres Acosta, Thomas C. Blevins, Melissa Choi, Faith L. Holmes, Timothy Smith, Lisa Connery, Yao Li, Mike Ke Liu, Aline Barth, Jamie Butcher, Antonio Civitarese, Huibin Yue, Blai Coll. Oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist aleniglipron in people with overweight or obesity: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2b trial. Nature Medicine, 2026; DOI: 10.1038/s41591-026-04476-6
Cite This Page:
Northwestern Medicine. “New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% weight loss in 36 weeks.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 August 2026. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260810015717.htm>.
Northwestern Medicine. (2026, August 10). New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% weight loss in 36 weeks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 10, 2026 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260810015717.htm
Northwestern Medicine. “New GLP-1 pill delivers up to 12% weight loss in 36 weeks.” ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/08/260810015717.htm (accessed August 10, 2026).
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