Orforglipron
Foundayo (brand)LY3502970Evidence
Approved
Half-life
30 h
Typical vial
6 mg
Route
Oral
What it is
The first GLP-1 pill that is a true small molecule. Approved in April 2026, and taken any time of day with no food or water restrictions.
Orforglipron is the drug that made GLP-1 a tablet, not an injection, and the distinction that matters is chemical: it is not a peptide. Every other GLP-1 agonist is a modified version of the hormone. That is why they are injected. Peptides are digested. Orforglipron is a small molecule designed from scratch to fit the same receptor, and small molecules survive the stomach.
That is not the same claim as oral semaglutide. Rybelsus is a peptide carried past the stomach lining by an absorption enhancer. Which is why it must be taken on an empty stomach with a specific small volume of water and nothing else for half an hour. Orforglipron has none of those restrictions. Any time of day, with or without food.
The FDA approved it on 1 April 2026 for chronic weight management, under the brand name Foundayo. In its phase 3 obesity programme it produced dose-dependent weight loss of roughly 7.5% to 11.2% over 72 weeks against 2.1% on placebo. Less than injected semaglutide or tirzepatide, and achieved with a tablet.
How it works
Orforglipron activates the GLP-1 receptor, producing the same downstream effects as the injected agonists: insulin release when glucose is high, glucagon suppression, slowed gastric emptying, and reduced appetite through the hypothalamus.
It reaches that receptor as a small molecule rather than as a peptide analogue. Peptides are broken down by digestive enzymes and absorbed poorly, which is the reason the rest of this class is injected. A non-peptide agonist sidesteps the problem entirely rather than working around it.
Its half-life supports once-daily dosing. That is a meaningful difference from weekly injections: levels rise and fall each day rather than sitting on a plateau, and the practical consequence is that stopping it clears faster.
What it is studied for
Each entry states the evidence behind it. We do not rank indications by effectiveness — for most compounds here, that would be a claim nobody can support.
Chronic weight management
Clinical trialThe approved indication.
EvidenceA 72-week phase 3 trial in 3,127 adults without diabetes found dose-dependent weight loss of 7.5% to 11.2% against 2.1% on placebo — with improvements in waist circumference — blood pressure and lipids.
Type 2 diabetes
Clinical trialStudied in its own phase 3 programme.
EvidenceA separate 72-week trial in adults with type 2 diabetes reported roughly 10.5% weight loss at the highest dose alongside glucose control.
Regulatory status
Last reviewed 18 Aug 2026. Positions in this category change frequently, so we date the line.
Approved by the FDA on 1 April 2026 as Foundayo, for chronic weight management in adults with obesity, or overweight with a weight-related condition. The first non-peptide, small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for weight loss.
Identity and clearance
What the molecule is, and how long a dose stays measurable.
Molecule
- Class
- Small molecule: a non-peptide GLP-1 receptor agonist, not an analogue of the hormone
- Molecular weight
- 850 Da
Included alongside the peptides because it treats the same thing through the same receptor. Chemically it has nothing in common with them.
Pharmacokinetics
Clinical trialOnce daily, with no timing, food or water restrictions. That is the practical difference from oral semaglutide.
Dose protocols reported in sources
Displayed for reference only. Every row says where it came from, and a trial protocol and a community convention are not the same kind of information. None of this is fed into the calculator, and none of it is a recommendation.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route | Units, 6 mg vial | Source | Start this protocol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved escalation for weight management | 6 mg – 36 mg | Once daily, escalating over several months | OralA tablet, taken at any time of day with or without food. The escalation exists to let nausea settle at each step, as with every drug in this class. | from 100 u | Clinical trial | Start this |
The doses above in syringe units, for the vial you have:
Start this copies a row into a protocol of your own, which you can then edit. Where a source gave a dose range or an ambiguous frequency, those fields arrive empty — we will not pick a number on your behalf.
Safety
Reported effects, the situations that need care, and the ones that mean stop.
Reported effects
- NauseaClinical trial
Very common in trials
The dominant effect across this whole class, worst during escalation and usually settling.
- Vomiting, diarrhoea and constipationClinical trial
Common in trials
- Gallbladder diseaseClinical trial
Reported across the GLP-1 class
Rapid weight loss raises gallstone risk regardless of the drug producing it.
- PancreatitisClinical trial
Rare
Severe persistent abdominal pain radiating to the back needs urgent assessment.
When to stop
- Severe, persistent abdominal pain, particularly radiating to the back. Possible pancreatitis. Seek urgent care.
- Pain in the upper right abdomen, fever, or yellowing of the skin or eyes.
- A lump in the neck, hoarseness that does not resolve, or difficulty swallowing.
- Vomiting severe enough that you cannot keep fluids down.
- Any allergic response: rash, hives, facial swelling or difficulty breathing. Seek urgent care.
Interactions and situations that need care
- Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma, or MEN 2Avoid
The GLP-1 class carries a boxed warning about thyroid C-cell tumours seen in rodents. Whether it translates to humans is unresolved, and in someone already carrying that specific risk it is a firm exclusion, not a caution.
- History of pancreatitisUse caution
Pancreatitis is a recognised, if rare, adverse event across the GLP-1 class, and a previous episode raises the baseline risk.
- Pregnancy and breastfeedingAvoid
Deliberate weight loss during pregnancy is contraindicated, and there is no safety data to weigh against that.
- Insulin or sulfonylurea therapyUse caution
Combining glucose-lowering mechanisms causes hypoglycaemia, and those doses usually need reducing by a prescriber.
What to expect
What the sources describe over time, and how confident anyone can be about it.
- Roughly 7.5% to 11.2% weight loss over 72 weeks depending on dose. Real, and less than injected semaglutide or tirzepatide achieve.
- It is a tablet with no timing, food or water restrictions. For a lot of people that difference matters more than the extra few per cent an injection would give.
- It is a small molecule, not a peptide. Nothing about it is reconstituted, and it has no relationship to the research chemicals sold alongside it.
- Nausea during escalation is the common experience, as with the whole class.
- Weight is regained after stopping, which is true of every drug in this category.
Storage and combinations
How to keep it, and what it does and does not go with.
Storage and handling
- Freeze-dried powder
- Tablets at room temperature, in the original packaging.
- After mixing
- Not applicable. This is a tablet.
With other peptides
- Semaglutideincompatible
Both activate the GLP-1 receptor. Taking them together doubles the gastrointestinal effects and the pancreatitis risk while adding nothing. The receptor is already saturated at therapeutic doses of either.
- Tirzepatideincompatible
Tirzepatide already includes full GLP-1 agonism. Adding orforglipron stacks the same mechanism with the same side effects and no additional benefit.
Checking your vial
Research chemicals carry no manufacturing standard, so what the vial looks like is often the only quality signal available before you use it.
A tablet tells you nothing by looking at it
Unlike a lyophilised peptide, where a collapsed cake reveals heat damage, a tablet gives no visual signal. Only the approved product from a pharmacy is the studied drug.
Vocabulary on this page
- GLP-1 agonist
- A drug acting on the receptor for glucagon-like peptide-1, a gut hormone that signals fullness and slows stomach emptying.
- Bioavailability
- How much of an administered dose actually reaches the bloodstream. Injection is close to complete; swallowing a peptide is usually close to nothing.
- Batch number
- An identifier for one production run, printed on the vial and on the certificate that tests it. Matching the two is what makes the certificate mean anything about the vial in your hand.
- Half-life
- The time it takes for half of a compound to be cleared from the body.
- Research chemical
- A legal label, not a quality grade. It describes what a seller is permitted to sell you, and says nothing about what is in the vial.
- Stack
- Several separate compounds run at the same time, each in its own vial and on its own schedule.
Questions
- How is this different from Rybelsus, the semaglutide pill?
- Rybelsus is a peptide pushed past the stomach lining by an absorption enhancer. This is why it has to be taken on an empty stomach with a small specified amount of water and nothing else for thirty minutes. Orforglipron is a small molecule that survives digestion on its own, so none of those restrictions apply.
- Does it work as well as the injections?
- No. Roughly 7.5% to 11.2% over 72 weeks, against about 15% for injected semaglutide and more for tirzepatide. The trade is convenience for magnitude.
- Is it a peptide?
- No, and that is the whole point of it. It is a small molecule designed to fit the GLP-1 receptor without being a copy of the hormone. That is what lets it be swallowed.
References
Everything on this page that came from a source, with the source.
Orforglipron in adults with obesity without diabetes: the ATTAIN-1 phase 3 trial
Eli Lilly phase 3 programme and FDA approval documentation, 2026 · Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial
Adults with obesity, or overweight with a comorbidity · n = 3127 · 6 mg, 12 mg or 36 mg orally, once daily · 72 weeks
Dose-dependent weight loss of approximately 7.5% to 11.2% against 2.1% on placebo, with improvements in waist circumference, blood pressure and lipids. Gastrointestinal effects were the most common adverse events. Supported FDA approval in April 2026.
Orforglipron in adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity
Eli Lilly phase 3 programme, 2026 · Randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial
Adults with type 2 diabetes and obesity · Up to 36 mg orally, once daily · 72 weeks
Approximately 10.5% weight loss at the highest dose alongside improved glucose control.
Orforglipron compared with
Also compared with Tirzepatide, Retatrutide, Liraglutide, Cagrilintide, Mazdutide, Survodutide.
Related compounds
Semaglutide
A long-acting GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for type 2 diabetes and for weight management, dosed once weekly.
Tirzepatide
A once-weekly dual agonist that activates both the GIP and GLP-1 receptors, approved for type 2 diabetes and for weight management.
Retatrutide
An investigational once-weekly triple agonist acting on the GLP-1, GIP and glucagon receptors. Not approved anywhere.
Liraglutide
The first GLP-1 analogue approved for weight loss. A daily injection, superseded by weekly semaglutide but still the best-documented compound in the class.
Next
What to do with Orforglipron
- Keep a record of itTurn a dose and a schedule into a protocol, then log what you actually take. Orforglipron is filled in for you.
- See what it costsPer-milligram prices read from vendor sites and confirmed by a person, so vial sizes compare.
- Check a combinationWhat our profiles record about Orforglipron alongside each other compound — including the pairs where nothing is recorded.
Keep this page honest
If something here is wrong, out of date, or missing a source, tell us and we will fix it and say that we did.
This page is educational. It describes what published research reports, not what you should do. Peptides discussed here are largely not approved for human use, and nothing on BioAlmanac is medical advice. No clinician reviews these pages.
Page last updated 18 Aug 2026