Lilly touts Foundayo advantage over Novo's Ozempic pill in diabetes analysis

Sept 29 — Eli Lilly said its oral obesity drug, Foundayo, offers greater weight loss and ​better blood sugar control than a higher dose of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic pill in adults with type 2 diabetes, citing data from ‌existing studies.

The findings were based on an indirect comparison of Lilly's 17.2-milligram dose of Foundayo and ⁠Novo's 25-mg Ozempic pill, previously known ​as Rybelsus, using data from ⁠two previous late-stage studies, the US drugmaker said on Tuesday.

"Head-to-head trials ultimately ‌provide the best comparison ‌of two medicines, but when we don't yet have those data, ⁠then other approaches can provide informative data ⁠points," said Rachel Batterham, senior vice president of medical innovation and external engagement, Lilly Cardiometabolic Health.

Novo's 25 mg once-daily dose of oral semaglutide is not approved in the United States for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. The Danish drugmaker expects the FDA's decision on it ‌by the end of 2026.

"It is important to ​note that the just-announced indirect treatment comparison is in people with type 2 diabetes, not in those with obesity, and people with T2D simply do not lose as much weight in clinical studies," a Novo spokesperson told Reuters in an email.

Ozempic pill contains semaglutide, the same active ingredient in Novo's blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy. Both medicines belong to ​the popular GLP-1 class of treatments, which help regulate blood sugar and suppress appetite.

Lilly ‌and Novo, the ‌leading players ⁠in the rapidly growing obesity market, are racing to defend and expand their positions as rivals advance next-generation treatments that promise greater convenience, tolerability and effectiveness.

Lilly said its analyses using different statistical methods produced consistent results. It ‌said Foundayo 17.2 mg showed ​1.5% to 2.4% greater weight loss and ‌0.3% to 0.6% larger ⁠reductions in ​A1C compared with oral semaglutide 25 mg.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Shinjini Ganguli)

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