A sign of Lilly on the top of its biotechnology center — coverage from STAT
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Andrew Joseph covers health, medicine, and the biopharma industry in Europe. You can reach Andrew on Signal at drewqjoseph.45.

Elaine Chen covers biotech, co-writes The Readout newsletter, and co-hosts STAT’s weekly biotech podcast, The Readout Loud. You can reach Elaine on Signal at elaineywchen.70.

A daily pill from Eli Lilly helped patients with type 2 diabetes improve their blood sugar and shed weight, the company said Thursday, late-stage results that could propel the next-generation treatment onto the market.

The drug, orforglipron, produced results that were nearly comparable to the benefits of available GLP-1 drugs, which are primarily weekly injectable treatments. Companies have been racing to develop more convenient, as well as more powerful, obesity treatments, including pills. The thought is that the easier-to-take medicines could give companies an edge in the competitive marketplace and expand their patient bases.

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 Shares of Lilly surged in pre-market trading Thursday.

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