Weight-loss pills: can orforglipron preserve weight loss after Mounjaro? 

A new daily pill called orforglipron helps people keep weight off after they stop taking the weight-loss injections Mounjaro (tirzepatide) or Wegovy (semaglutide), according to a new study.

Orforglipron has not yet been approved for use in the UK.

But in June 2026, another weight-loss tablet – the pill version of Wegovy – was approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

This means you can buy it if you have a prescription, but it is not yet available on the NHS.

These weight-loss pills come on the back of growing use of weight-loss injections.

Both the pills and injections are GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines.

As well as reducing excess weight, research shows that GLP-1 injections can improve other risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including:

• high blood sugar levels
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol levels.

But studies suggest that many people will put most of this weight back on and lose these health benefits when they stop the injections.

Now, this new study published in May 2026's Nature Medicine shows that people who take orforglipron when they come off weight-loss injections keep off more weight than those taking a dummy pill (placebo).

What is orforglipron?

Orforglipron (also known by its brand name Foundayo) is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that comes as a daily pill.

Like other GLP-1s, it helps people eat less and lose weight by mimicking hormones in the body that slow down digestion, lower appetite and make them feel fuller after eating.

Previous trials have shown orforglipron helps people to lose weight.

A 2023 New England Journal of Medicine study of 272 people with excess weight or obesity who did not have diabetes found those taking 12mg of orforglipron every day lost 9.4 per cent of body weight after 36 weeks.

This increased to 14.7 per cent in people taking a 45mg dose, while those taking a dummy pill only lost 2.3 per cent of body weight.

Currently, orforglipron is only available in the United States, with a maximum dose of 17.2mg a day.

In the UK, it’s under review by the MHRA and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). 

This means it’s illegal to sell orforglipron in the UK, even online.

In the May 2026 study, people taking orforglipron reported similar side effects to people taking other GLP-1 receptor agonist medicines.

These were mostly mild digestive symptoms, including:

• feeling or being sick
• constipation
• diarrhoea.

There was also 1 case of mild pancreatitis.

• Read more about weight-loss injection side effects.

What did the research find?

The new study published in May's Nature Medicine journal included 376 people in the United States who had been taking tirzepatide (Mounjaro) or semaglutide (Wegovy) for 72 weeks in another study.

When they started the weight-loss injections in this earlier trial, they either had obesity or excess weight and a weight-related health issue, but not diabetes.

For this latest study they were either given up to 36mg of orforglipron or a dummy pill with no medicine every day for 52 weeks.

People taking orforglipron successfully maintained more than three-quarters (75 per cent to 79 per cent) of the weight they had lost while on weight-loss injections, while those taking a dummy pill kept off between 38 per cent and 49 per cent.

People taking orforglipron maintained other health improvements from weight-loss injections, including lower blood sugar, blood pressure and bad cholesterol levels.

What do the researchers say?

The researchers suggest that orforglipron and other weight-loss pills could be a “potential solution” to people using GLP-1 medicines in the long term, to help keep weight off and retain the associated heart-health benefits.

This is because these daily pills are cheaper than weight-loss injections, can be kept at room temperature and do not require self-injection.

How good was the research? 

The study was funded by Eli Lilly, the company that makes orforglipron and Mounjaro, and presented at the 2026 European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey.

The main strength of the research is that it was a randomised double-blind trial, which means neither the participants or the researchers knew if they were taking orforglipron or a dummy pill.

However, the trial did not include a group of people who continued to take weight-loss injections. This means we cannot compare how effective orforglipron is with these existing medicines, or its side effects.

The trial was small, with 376 participants aged 49 years old on average.

All the participants received advice on how to manage their weight by eating a healthy diet and doing physical activity.

Of the people included in this study, 205 people had taken tirzepatide (Mounjaro) for 72 weeks in the previous trial, while 171 had taken semaglutide (Wegovy).

Both groups lost a significant amount of weight.

For this study, the researchers focused their analysis on participants who had stopped losing weight between weeks 60 and 72 of the previous trial.

Over 52 weeks, in the group who had taken tirzepatide:

• People given orforglipron maintained 74.7 per cent of weight loss, while those taking a dummy pill only kept off 49.2 per cent.
• 43.7 per cent of people given orforglipron maintained at least 80 per cent of weight loss compared to 16.4 per cent taking a dummy pill.

In the group who had taken semaglutide:

• People given orforglipron maintained 79.3 per cent of weight loss, while those taking a dummy pill only kept off 37.6 per cent.
• 55 per cent of people given orforglipron maintained at least 80 per cent of weight loss compared to 6.9 per cent taking a dummy pill.

After 24 weeks, researchers prescribed orforglipron to people taking the dummy pill if they regained 50 per cent or more of the weight they had lost originally.

How good was the media coverage?

The study received a lot of media attention, and was covered by news outlets including Sky News, the BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph.

All these reports highlighted that taking a pill might be more appealing and cost-effective than staying on weight-loss injections.

However, Sky’s headline – “Switching from weight loss jabs to daily pill could help keep off pounds” – may be misleading.

It could suggest orforglipron is more effective for maintaining weight-loss than staying on weight-loss injections, but the study did not compare those taking the pill with people continuing to take weight-loss injections.

Are other weight-loss tablets available in the UK?

At the moment, GLP-1 agonist receptor medicines designed to help you lose weight are only available on the NHS as injections.

A daily pill version of Wegovy (semaglutide) is approved for use in the UK by the MHRA, which means you can buy it with a prescription.

However, it is not yet available on the NHS as it is still being reviewed by NICE.

A daily semaglutide pill called Rybelsus is already offered on the NHS, but only to lower blood sugar levels in people with type 2 diabetes.

It’s also licensed and prescribed to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events (like heart attacks and strokes) in adults who have type 2 diabetes.

• Find out which weight-loss injections are available on the NHS.

The BHF verdict

Orforglipron is not yet available in the UK. If you see this medicine being sold online from UK pharmacies, this is illegal and may be unsafe.

However, if orforglipron is approved by MHRA and NICE, this study suggests it may help people keep the weight off after stopping weight-loss injections.

More research is needed to find out if it can help people maintain weight loss and other health benefits that reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease for longer than 52 weeks.

If you’re finding it hard to manage your weight after coming off weight-loss injections, speak to your healthcare team or read more about managing your weight.

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