AstraZeneca reveals oral GLP-1 scored phase 2 wins but holds back weight loss data
AstraZeneca is taking its oral GLP-1 drug into phase 3 on the back of a pair of midstage weight loss wins, despite remaining tight-lipped on how the candidate actually performed.
The U.K.-based Big Pharma evaluated the therapy, called elecoglipron, in the Vista and Solstice phase 2 studies. The Vista study, which wrapped up in November, assessed weight loss of elecoglipron versus placebo over 36 weeks among 310 patients with obesity or overweight.
Meanwhile, the Solstice trial, which finished in December, assessed blood sugar control of elecoglipron versus placebo or semaglutide—the ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—in 406 participants with Type 2 diabetes.
The company disclosed in its full-year 2025 earnings results (PDF) this morning that both trials hit their primary endpoints, and elecoglipron—which AstraZeneca licensed from Eccogene in 2023—will be progressing into phase 3 development this year.
However, the pharma is holding back on revealing the level of weight loss the drug induced in each study—a make-or-break factor in the highly competitive obesity space—until the American Diabetes Association conference in June.
When asked during this morning’s earnings press conference whether elecoglipron had held its own against the competition, AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot wouldn’t get drawn into the specifics.
“The only thing I will say is that we have a very competitive profile,” Soriot told journalists.
“[As] you would imagine, we will not move into phase 3 and unlock all this investment for monotherapy, combination, cardiovascular outcome trials—which you can imagine, is not inexpensive—if we didn’t believe the product,” the CEO continued.
Novo Nordisk became the first company to launch an oral GLP-1 drug for weight loss in December via the oral version of Wegovy, while Eli Lilly is reportedly expecting a decision on its own GLP-1 pill orforglipron early in the second quarter. The current firestorm raging around Hims & Hers’ attempt to launch a knockoff version of Novo’s pill served as a timely reminder of the high stakes of the oral obesity race.
