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SAN DIEGO – An experimental pill from Eli Lilly led to 14.7% weight loss on the highest dose in a 36-week trial, heating up the growing competition among drugmakers to develop an effective oral obesity therapy.

The mid-stage results for orforglipron match the estimates of 14-15% weight loss that Lilly gave in an investor call late last year. The full results, published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine, were presented here to a packed conference room at the American Diabetes Association conference.

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By the end of trial, the authors said, participants’ weight loss had not plateaued, suggesting potential for even greater weight loss over a longer treatment period.

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