Weight loss pills are coming

Carmot Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company purchased by pharma giant Roche for $2.7 billion earlier this year, is one step closer to making the saying “A pill a day keeps the weight away” a reality.

The company’s once-daily oral GLP-1 pill for weight loss generated statistically significant results in a phase 1 human trial, according to newly publicized data.

• After taking the pill for four weeks, trial participants lost a placebo-adjusted 6.1% of their body weight on average.

This win puts Roche in the race. Pharma giants Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk are all working on GLP-1 pills for weight loss, which are seen as key to the drug class reaching its full market potential.

Existing GLP-1 obesity drugs on the market like Ozempic cost upwards of $10,000/year, and most aren’t covered by insurance if used for weight loss. These drugs are also delivered via injection – a more costly (and anxiety-inducing) process than just taking a pill.

👀 Looking ahead… It’ll likely be years before any GLP-1 pill designed to induce weight loss secures FDA approval.

But when one does, demand is expected to be higher than Cheech and Chong at a backyard barbeque. Analysts estimate the weight loss drug market will be worth ~$150 billion by the early 2030s, which would make it one of the biggest drug classes of all time.