Oral GLP-1 drug shows blood sugar and weight benefits in diabetes trial
Elecoglipron beat placebo in a 406-person phase 2b trial, with results presented at a major diabetes meeting and published in The Lancet.
By Tom Brennan · Health & Medicine Correspondent
3 min read
An experimental oral GLP-1 drug lowered blood sugar and helped adults with type 2 diabetes lose weight in a mid-stage international trial, according to results presented at the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions and published in The Lancet. If later studies confirm the findings, elecoglipron could expand access to a class of diabetes medicines that Mass General Brigham says is still often given by injection.
Vanita Aroda, a Mass General Brigham researcher and director of diabetes clinical research in the health system’s endocrinology division, presented the SOLSTICE trial results. The phase 2b study tested elecoglipron, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist developed for type 2 diabetes.
Trial tested doses across nine countries
AstraZeneca sponsored the randomized, placebo-controlled SOLSTICE trial, which enrolled 406 adults with type 2 diabetes in nine countries, including the United States, according to Mass General Brigham. Participants were assigned to different groups so investigators could compare starting doses, dose increases and maintenance doses.
After 26 weeks, elecoglipron reduced glucose levels more than placebo at all tested doses, the researchers reported in The Lancet. Mass General Brigham said the findings point to the potential of oral GLP-1 drugs to address some practical limits of current treatments.
The trial reported that up to 89.6% of participants taking elecoglipron reached an HbA1c level of 7%, a standard target for average blood sugar over the previous two to three months for most adults with diabetes. In the placebo group, 24.9% reached that target, according to the study summary from Mass General Brigham.
Weight also fell more often among participants receiving the experimental medicine. Up to 72.3% of people on elecoglipron lost at least 5% of their body weight, compared with 20.2% of those assigned to placebo, the researchers reported.
Oral dosing could reduce treatment burden
Mass General Brigham said most GLP-1 medicines now available are delivered by subcutaneous injection. Semaglutide is available in an oral form for type 2 diabetes, but the health system said it must be taken in the morning on an empty stomach, with patients avoiding food and water for 30 minutes afterward.
Another oral non-peptide GLP-1 medicine, orforglipron, has been approved in the United States for weight management, according to Mass General Brigham. Elecoglipron is being studied specifically for type 2 diabetes.
The researchers said elecoglipron’s safety and tolerability profile in this stage of development was generally in line with other GLP-1 therapies. The summary did not list specific adverse events.
Related diabetes study also reported
Aroda also led REIMAGINE 1, a randomized controlled trial of CagriSema, a combination of the amylin receptor agonist cagrilintide and injectable semaglutide. Results from that study were presented at the same ADA meeting and published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, according to Mass General Brigham.
In REIMAGINE 1, up to 87% of participants reached the 7% HbA1c target, Mass General Brigham said. The health system said the findings were part of a broader effort to test new diabetes therapies and refine existing treatment approaches.
The SOLSTICE paper lists Aroda and researchers from several institutions and companies as authors. Mass General Brigham said Aroda reported institutional contracts from multiple drugmakers, including AstraZeneca, and consulting fees from several organizations; additional disclosures appear in The Lancet.
This story draws on original reporting from ScienceDaily.