Patients on Eli Lilly & Co.’s experimental diabetes pill lost more weight and had better blood sugar control than those on an older, approved rival from Novo Nordisk A/S in the first head-to-head trial of the two medicines.

The highest dose of Lilly’s pill - called orforglipron - led to a 1.9% drop in blood sugar levels, compared with a 1.5% reduction with Novo’s drug Rybelsus, Lilly said in a statement on Wednesday. Patients given orforglipron lost 8.2% of their body weight - roughly 18 pounds - in 52 weeks, while those on Novo’s drug lost 5.3% of their body weight - about 12 pounds.

Lilly shares fell 0.5% at 9:35 a.m. in New York Wednesday, while Novo rose 1.7% in Copenhagen.

Lilly also released the first full look at how orforglipron helped patients with obesity this week and is pres

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