New GLP-1 Drug Shows Significant Weight Loss and Blood Sugar Reduction in Phase III Trial

The MHRA granted Novo Nordisk approval on June 11, 2026 for a daily oral semaglutide tablet (Wegovy) for weight management in UK adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or BMI 27–30 with at least one weight-related comorbidity such as type 2 diabetes or hypertension. The pill must be taken on an empty stomach after at least eight hours of fasting, with no food or drink for 30 minutes afterward; dosing escalates from 1.5 mg through 4 mg, 9 mg, and 25 mg, with a minimum of one month at each level. Clinical trial data cited by the MHRA showed adults on the 25 mg dose lost an average of 17% of body weight after 64 weeks, compared with 3% for placebo. The tablet will be available privately within weeks but has not yet been evaluated by NICE for NHS coverage; US list pricing started at approximately $149 per month for the lowest dose. Separately, AstraZeneca presented Phase 2 data at the American Diabetes Association meeting showing its investigational oral GLP-1 pill elecoglipron produced 11.2% weight loss over 36 weeks in obese patients and a 1.74 percentage-point A1C reduction in diabetic patients, though cross-trial comparisons with Eli Lilly's approved oral GLP-1 Foundayo remain difficult. A small 102-person Phase 2 trial published in Nature Medicine found that the myostatin-blocking antibody apitegromab, when added to tirzepatide, preserved 55% more lean body mass than tirzepatide alone, though experts cautioned the study was short, mostly female, and too small to draw firm conclusions about functional health benefits. Finally, a mouse-model study published in Cell Host & Microbe proposed a novel gut-brain mechanism by which liraglutide may reduce depression by boosting the gut bacterium Lactobacillus delbrueckii, which elevates the endocannabinoid 2-AG — a finding that challenges the prevailing brain-receptor model but has not yet been tested in humans.