AstraZeneca oral GLP-1 pill elecoglipron hits blood sugar and weight targets in phase 2b SOLSTICE trial, published in The Lancet
People with type 2 diabetes who avoid GLP-1 drugs because of the needle may get a pill option. AstraZeneca's $AZN elecoglipron got up to 89.6% of patients to target blood sugar over 26 weeks vs 24.9% on placebo, and 72.3% lost 5%+ body weight. Phase 2b SOLSTICE trial, in The Lanc
People with type 2 diabetes who have held off on GLP-1 treatment because it requires injections may soon have a simpler option. At the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions, researchers presented results from SOLSTICE, a phase 2b trial of elecoglipron, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist developed by AstraZeneca $AZN. The findings were published in The Lancet. Over 26 weeks, up to 89.6% of participants taking the pill reached an HbA1c of 7%, the standard blood sugar target, compared with 24.9% on placebo. Up to 72.3% achieved at least a 5% reduction in body weight, against 20.2% on placebo. The trial enrolled 406 adults with type 2 diabetes across nine countries. Most GLP-1 medicines are injected. The one existing oral option, semaglutide, must be taken on an empty stomach with no food or water for 30 minutes afterward. A small-molecule pill without those constraints could lower a real barrier for patients who avoid or abandon injectable therapy. The data come from a mid-stage trial, so larger phase 3 studies will determine whether the effect holds and how the safety profile compares over longer use.