New Oral Diabetes Pill Shows Strong Blood Sugar and Weight Benefits

A new pill that works like a GLP‑1 drug may make it easier for people with type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar and lose weight.

Oral GLP‑1 Pill Tested in a Large Study

Researchers from Mass General Brigham shared the results of the SOLSTICE trial, a phase 2b study that compared the pill called elecoglipron with a fake pill (placebo). The study was shown at the American Diabetes Association meeting and was also written up in a medical journal.

Elecoglipron lowered blood sugar and helped people lose weight. The findings show that a pill could work as well as the current injections and oral peptides, while avoiding some of their drawbacks.

Why an Oral Pill Matters

Most GLP‑1 medicines are given by injection. One pill, semaglutide, must be taken on an empty stomach and patients must wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking. Another oral drug, orforglipron, is already approved for weight loss. Elecoglipron is being studied specifically for diabetes.

What the SOLSTICE Trial Found

The trial, funded by AstraZeneca, enrolled 406 adults with type 2 diabetes from nine countries, including the United States. Participants were split into groups that received different starting doses and ways of increasing the dose.

After 26 weeks, the pill lowered glucose levels much more than the placebo, no matter the dose.

Almost 90 % of people who took elecoglipron reached an HbA1c level of 7 % or lower, which is the usual goal for blood‑sugar control. In the placebo group, only about 25 % hit that target.

Weight loss was also strong. More than 70 % of the pill users lost at least 5 % of their body weight, compared with just 20 % of those on placebo.

The safety picture looked similar to other GLP‑1 drugs that are already on the market.

Other Diabetes Research Shared at the Meeting

The same researcher, Dr. Vanita Aroda, also led the REIMAGINE 1 trial, which tested a combo of cagrilintide and injectable semaglutide. That study showed up to 87 % of participants reached the HbA1c goal of 7 %.

“Our goal is always to improve care for people with diabetes,” Dr. Aroda said. “Well‑designed trials help us find better medicines and make sure new science turns into real‑world benefits.”