Injected weight loss treatments continue to dominate physician preferences, with Eli Lilly’s (LLY) Zepbound leading the field despite a wave of new oral obesity medications arriving on the market.
A Spherix Global Insights survey of around 100 primary care physicians and endocrinologists found that injectable drugs remain the favoured choice over newer pill-based alternatives for treating obesity.
The survey covered a range of treatments, including Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide, its injectable CagriSema, and Eli Lilly’s own oral candidate, orforglipron, giving researchers a broad picture of how doctors view the shifting landscape.
Zepbound has posted average weight loss results of more than 20% in late-stage clinical studies, a figure that outpaces results seen with both the Wegovy injection and its pill form, as well as Lilly’s oral drug tested in separate trials.
Despite the strong clinical data behind injectable therapies, the arrival of oral obesity drugs has prompted physicians to consider how pill-based options might fit into their prescribing habits going forward.
The Spherix survey revealed that most doctors surveyed did not have top-of-mind awareness of oral semaglutide’s upcoming FDA decision in obesity, even though they reported high levels of familiarity with the drug overall.
This gap between general awareness and regulatory knowledge suggests that the commercial rollout of oral obesity treatments may face an educational hurdle among the physicians who will ultimately prescribe them.
Cost emerged as a significant factor in how physicians might approach switching patients from injections to pills, particularly where cash prices for either option are comparable or closely aligned.
Apovian of Brigham and Women’s Hospital was direct on the point, stating: “If the [cash price] is similar, I always prefer the injectables because I believe that the weight loss is better and the side effects are less.”
That clinical confidence in injectables reflects a broader sentiment among surveyed physicians, who appear unlikely to shift patients performing well on injections unless there is a compelling financial reason to do so.
The oral obesity drug market is nonetheless attracting significant attention from both pharmaceutical companies and investors, given the potential for pills to reach patients who are unwilling or unable to use injections.
Lilly’s orforglipron and Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide represent the two most prominent oral entries in a space that Zepbound currently dominates by physician preference, according to the Spherix findings.
Whether oral drugs can close the efficacy gap with injectables over time will likely determine how dramatically the prescribing landscape shifts in the coming years.