How does orforglipron work?

Orforglipron is a small molecule you swallow, not a peptide. It switches on the GLP-1 receptor. The body clears half of it in about 29 to 49 hours. Its molecular weight is about 735 daltons. It has been FDA approved as Foundayo since April 1, 2026, for long-term weight management, with a boxed warning about thyroid tumors. ATTAIN-1, a large final-stage study in 3,127 adults, found 11.2% weight loss at 72 weeks on 36 milligrams, versus 2.1% on a dummy pill, counting everyone the way they were assigned. 36% lost 15% or more. An earlier study found 9.4% to 14.7% weight loss at 36 weeks, versus 2.3% on a dummy pill. ACHIEVE-1, in people with early type 2 diabetes, found long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) fell 1.24 to 1.48 points at 40 weeks, versus 0.41 on a dummy pill. Those are results for a labeled medicine, not a research-chemical claim. This FAQ does not invent a dose. Full record at /compounds/orforglipron.

Educational use only. This database summarizes published research and is not medical advice. Where a dose appears it is a record of what a trial or clinic ran, or what people describe doing, with its source attached. Nothing here is a recommendation for personal use.

Part of glp-1 and metabolic peptides. Semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, and the rest of the incretin and glucagon receptor family.