Structure Doubles After Obesity Pill Weight-Loss ‘Homerun’

A pill from Structure Therapeutics Inc. helped patients lose roughly as much weight as a rival treatment from Eli Lilly & Co., giving the startup an edge as it seeks to break into the highly competitive obesity market.

In a mid-stage study, patients lost roughly 11.3% of their body weight on a lower-dose of the pill, called aleniglipron, Structure said on Monday. Higher doses of the pill led to even more weight loss, topping out around 15.3% in a separate study. About 10.4% of patients dropped out of the study across all treatment arms due to side effects, similar to rates seen in trials of Lilly’s pill.