Health
New Wegovy pill offers needle-free weight loss — but may not work for everyone
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The first oral GLP-1 medication for weight loss has been approved for use in the U.S.
The Wegovy pill, from drugmaker Novo Nordisk, was cleared by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce excess body weight, maintain long-term weight reduction and lower the risk of major cardiovascular events.
Approval of the once-daily 25mg semaglutide pill was based on the results of two clinical trials — the OASIS trial program and the SELECT trial.
WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS NOW LINKED TO CANCER PROTECTION IN WOMEN, MAJOR NEW STUDY REVEALS
The Wegovy pill demonstrated a mean weight loss of 16.6% in the OASIS 4 trial among adults who were obese or overweight and had one or more comorbidities (other medical conditions), according to a press release. In the same trial, one in three participants experienced 20% or greater weight loss.
The first oral GLP-1 medication for weight loss has been approved for use in the U.S. (iStock)
Novo Nordisk reported that the weight loss achieved with the pill is similar to that of injectable Wegovy and has a similar safety profile.
WEIGHT LOSS DRUGS COULD ADD YEARS TO AMERICANS’ LIVES, RESEARCHERS PROJECT
“With today’s approval of the Wegovy pill, patients will have a convenient, once-daily pill that can help them lose as much weight as the original Wegovy injection,” said Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, in the press release.
Novo Nordisk reported that the weight loss achieved with the pill is similar to that of injectable Wegovy and has a similar safety profile. (James Manning/PA Images via Getty Images)
“As the first oral GLP-1 treatment for people living with overweight or obesity, the Wegovy pill provides patients with a new, convenient treatment option that can help patients start or continue their weight-loss journey.”
POPULAR WEIGHT-LOSS DRUGS COULD TAKE THE EDGE OFF YOUR ALCOHOL BUZZ, STUDY FINDS
The oral GLP-1 is expected to launch in the U.S. in early January 2026. Novo Nordisk has also submitted oral semaglutide for obesity to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other regulatory authorities.
“Most side effects will be GI-related and should be similar to the injectable, such as nausea, vomiting and constipation,” an expert said. (iStock)
Dr. Sue Decotiis, a medical weight-loss doctor in New York City, confirmed in an interview with Fox News Digital that studies show oral Wegovy is comparable to the weekly injectable, just without the needles.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Although the pill may result in better compliance and ease of use, Decotiis warned that some patients may not absorb the medication through the gastrointestinal tract as well as with the injectable version due to individual idiosyncrasies in the body.
“Most side effects will be GI-related and should be similar to the injectable, such as nausea, vomiting and constipation,” she said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
“In my practice, I have found tirzepatide (Mounjaro and Zepbound) to yield more weight loss and fat loss than semaglutide by about 20%,” the doctor added. “This has been shown in studies, often [with] fewer side effects.”
More oral GLP-1s may be coming in 2026, according to Decotiis, including an Orforglipron application by Lilly and a new combination Novo Nordisk drug, which is pending approval later next year.
One expert warned that some patients may not absorb the medication through the gastrointestinal tract as well as with the injectable version. (iStock)
“There will be more new drugs available in the future that will be more effective for patients who are more insulin-resistant and have not responded as well to semaglutide and/or tirzepatide,” the doctor said. “This is great news, as novel drugs affecting more receptors mean better long-term results in more patients.”
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
As these medications become cheaper and easier to access, Decotiis emphasized that keeping up with healthy lifestyle habits — including proper nutrition with sufficient protein and fiber, as well as increased hydration — is essential to ensuring lasting results.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
“If not, patients will regain weight and could lose muscle and not enough body fat,” she said.
Fox News Digital reached out to Novo Nordisk for comment.
Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items.
Use escape to exit the menu.
Sign Up
Create a free account to access exclusive content, play games, solve puzzles, test your pop-culture knowledge and receive special offers.
Already have an account? Login
Health
Pancreatic cancer patient Ben Sasse sees ‘massive’ tumor reduction with experimental new drug
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Months after revealing his stage 4 cancer diagnosis, former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse is speaking out about an experimental therapy that could extend his life.
Sasse, a Republican who represented Nebraska between 2015 and 2023, shared in December 2025 that he has metastatic pancreatic cancer, which has spread to multiple organs — including his liver and lungs.
After initially being given three to four months to live, Sasse, 54, entered a clinical trial for a drug called daraxonrasib, an oral therapy (pill) that is designed to block the defective gene that triggers uncontrolled cellular growth.
CANCER SURVIVAL APPEARS TO DOUBLE WITH COMMON VACCINE, RESEARCHERS SAY
The California-based drugmaker, Revolution Medicines, recently shared data from a phase 3 clinical trial of people with metastatic pancreatic cancer who did not respond to standard chemotherapy.
Patients on the treatment lived a median of 13 months, compared to around six months for those who continued with chemo.
Former Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska entered a clinical trial for a drug called daraxonrasib, an oral therapy (pill) that is designed to block the defective gene that triggers uncontrolled cellular growth. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“I have much, much less pain than I had four months ago when I was diagnosed, and I have a massive 76% reduction in tumor volume over the last four months,” Sasse told “60 Minutes” in a recent interview.
Daraxonrasib works by going after a key growth “switch” in many cancers called RAS, according to Sarbajit Mukherjee, M.D., chief of gastrointestinal medical oncology at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida.
MAN WITH STAGE 4 CANCER RAISES $150K FOR EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT
“In pancreatic cancer, that switch is stuck in the ‘on’ position in the vast majority of tumors, constantly telling the cancer cells to grow and spread,” the doctor, who was not involved in the trial and did not treat Sasse, told Fox News Digital.
“Daraxonrasib is designed to bind to RAS in its active state and turn down that signal, which can slow or shrink the cancer.”
“The drug is in the final stages of clinical trials, where it has been shown to double the survival of those previously treated for metastatic pancreatic cancer.”
Pancreatic cancer is difficult to diagnose early because there are generally no symptoms — or only subtle gastrointestinal symptoms — until it is already widespread, according to Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst.
“This is the first-of-its-kind targeted therapy for pancreatic cancer,” Siegel, who also was not involved in the research or the senator’s treatment, told Fox News Digital. “The drug is in the final stages of clinical trials, where it has been shown to double the survival of those previously treated for metastatic pancreatic cancer.”
Sasse, shown above, announced his diagnosis late last year. An expert noted that the survival boost seen from the clinical trial is a “big difference” for a disease that typically has much shorter survival times. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Mukherjee noted that the survival boost seen in the trial is a “big difference” for a disease that typically has much shorter survival times.
“From my perspective, as someone who treats pancreatic cancer every day, daraxonrasib is the first targeted pill in this disease that truly feels like a step change rather than a small incremental improvement,” he said.
“It opens the door to much more personalized strategies going forward. For a cancer where progress has been painfully slow, it could reshape how we care for patients with advanced disease.”
RECTAL CANCER DEATHS RISING UP TO THREE TIMES FASTER IN SPECIFIC AGE GROUP, STUDY FINDS
While current chemotherapy options can shrink pancreatic tumors and help people live longer, they are “tough,” Mukherjee noted — “and once they stop working, our options are limited and survival is usually measured in just a few more months.”
Early data also suggest that when daraxonrasib is combined with standard chemotherapy as the first treatment, there is more shrinkage of tumors and more patients doing well at six months than they typically would only with chemotherapy.
Sasse shared in December 2025 that he has metastatic pancreatic cancer, which has spread to multiple organs, including his liver and lungs. (Meghan McCarthy/Palm Beach Daily News/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
If the drug is approved, it will likely become an important option for patients when standard chemotherapy stops working, Mukherjee suggested.
“Ongoing trials are now asking whether it should also be used as part of the very first treatment plan,” he added.
NEW CANCER VACCINE SHOWS PROMISING RESULTS FOR CERTAIN PATIENTS
Although the drug is described as “well-tolerated” compared to chemotherapy, the doctor noted that, like any strong cancer drug, daraxonrasib has side effects.
“The ones we see most often include rash, diarrhea, mouth sores and fatigue, with patients needing regular blood tests and close follow‑up while on treatment,” Mukherjee said.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR HEALTH NEWSLETTER
In the clinical trials, most of these problems have been managed by adjusting the dose or adding supportive medications.
“The limitations are important to be transparent about — it is still not yet FDA‑approved, and it is not a cure,” Mukherjee noted.
In addition to the daraxonrasi, Sasse credits his faith for helping him beat his original prognosis. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“Over time, most cancers will eventually find ways to grow around the drug.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE HEALTH STORIES
In addition to daraxonrasib, which he calls a “miracle” drug, Sasse credits his faith for helping him beat his original prognosis.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“It’s weird to be in your early 50s and get a terminal diagnosis, and people all of a sudden act like you’re 93 or 94, and you have a lot of wisdom,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“I don’t know that I have a lot of wisdom, but I have a lot of things that I think we should be reflecting on together.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Sasse for further comment, and to the head of the clinical trial as well.
The Supreme Court appeared divided on Monday during arguments in a dispute that could determine the fate of thousands of lawsuits that claim a widely used weedkiller causes cancer.
The case is the latest turn in a yearslong legal battle over safety concerns with the weedkiller Roundup. Developed by Monsanto in the 1970s, the herbicide is the focus of the lawsuits, which allege that it causes non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The dispute before the justices stems from a 2019 lawsuit brought by a Missouri gardener, John Durnell, who used Roundup for years. Mr. Durnell claimed in his suit, filed in state court, that glyphosate, a chemical in the weedkiller, caused him to develop cancer.
During Monday’s oral argument, several of the justices expressed skepticism of arguments by Bayer, the German conglomerate that acquired Monsanto in 2018, and the Trump administration, which joined the case in support of the company, that federal rules requiring herbicide safety labeling should bar people from filing state-level claims that accuse companies of failing to warn consumers of dangers.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. asked a lawyer for the Trump administration whether states would be blocked from taking action if new scientific information raised alarms about a product.
“The states cannot do anything?” the chief justice asked.
Sarah M. Harris, a principal deputy solicitor general, responded that it would be problematic to have each state “jumping the gun” to come to its own conclusion about whether a product caused cancer.
Mr. Durnell’s lawyer argued that the federal Environmental Protection Agency had overreached its regulatory power, a problem that could be rectified by giving a role to the courts, including at the state level. Several of the justices appeared skeptical about that argument too, questioning whether such a ruling would lead to a patchwork of safety regulations throughout the country.
In 2023, a Missouri jury awarded Mr. Durnell $1.25 million in damages. If the court finds for the company, that verdict would be erased and other claims against the company also endangered. If the court finds for Mr. Durnell, not only would his verdict be upheld but it would also clear the way for a flood of other lawsuits to proceed in courts throughout the country.
A ruling is expected by the end of June or early July.
The central issue in the case involves a collision between state and federal power. Bayer has argued that Mr. Durnell’s victory in Missouri is barred by a federal law, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act. That statute requires herbicides to be registered with the E.P.A. before they can be sold. Companies must submit scientific and safety data to the agency, along with proposed label information, including safety warnings.
The E.P.A. has previously determined that Roundup is safe to use. Bayer argued that the Missouri court ruling conflicted with that federal determination. Paul D. Clement, who represented Bayer, asserted that the federal agency’s decision invalidates the state court decision.
Got a news tip about the courts? If you have information to share about the Supreme Court or other federal courts, please contact us.
Bayer has also said it cannot add warnings to Roundup in any state because they would contradict the E.P.A.’s findings.
In a brief to the justices, lawyers for Bayer wrote that the E.P.A. had “repeatedly determined” that glyphosate does not cause cancer, asserting that the company would not be able to “unilaterally alter the label’s precautionary warnings to include a cancer warning.”
The company appealed the jury verdict in the Missouri case and, after the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the trial court, asked the justices to weigh in.
Early this year, President Trump issued an executive order that cited the Defense Production Act to guarantee production of glyphosate-based herbicides, appearing to elevate Roundup to a national security priority.
Lawyers for Mr. Durnell argued that nothing in the federal law blocked Bayer from adding a cancer warning to its labels and that such a change would not require E.P.A. approval.
Mr. Durnell was represented by Ashley C. Keller and Jonathan F. Mitchell, a prominent conservative appellate lawyer who represented Mr. Trump in his successful 2024 bid to remain on the Colorado ballot. Both lawyers joined the Supreme Court case only in recent months.
Another lawyer, David C. Frederick, had initially filed briefs on Mr. Durnell’s behalf. In the weeks before the argument, Mr. Frederick asked the justices if he could participate in the argument on behalf of more than 11,500 other people whose claims would be affected by the court’s decision. The justices denied the request.
-
New York32 minutes agoFather and Daughter Who Sold Fake Warhols Plead Guilty in Forgery Scheme
-
Detroit, MI1 hour agoJackson Jobe throws first bullpen in return from Tommy John surgery
-
San Francisco, CA1 hour ago
Oakland, California, airport can use ‘San Francisco’ in name after settlement
-
Dallas, TX1 hour ago
Cowboys LB coach ‘feels really good’ after NFL draft, new additions
-
Miami, FL1 hour ago2 more Miami Beach Commissioners endorse Vicki Lopez for Miami-Dade Commission
-
Boston, MA2 hours ago99 Restaurant in Charlestown may close for apartments
-
Denver, CO2 hours agoRe/Max to be sold, headquarters to leave Denver
-
Seattle, WA2 hours agoSeattle’s drug diversion plan falters as open-air use persists in neighborhood hotspots
