Kailera Therapeutics reported that its GLP-1 pill HRS-7535 helped people with obesity lose 9.8% of their body weight over 44 weeks in a Phase 3 trial in China. The results position the drug as a potential competitor to Eli Lilly's Foundayo and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill, though high rates of nausea…
Kailera Therapeutics announced on July 7, 2026 that its GLP-1 pill, known as HRS-7535, achieved meaningful weight loss in a late-stage clinical trial conducted in China. Participants who took the highest daily dose of the experimental medicine lost an average of 9.8 percent of their body weight over a 44 week period. This finding comes from a short Phase 3 study focused on people with obesity.
The drug also meaningfully lowered blood sugar in a separate late-stage trial for diabetes. These results add to the evidence that Kailera has been building as it seeks to compete with established obesity treatments from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The company went public in April 2026 with one of the largest initial public offerings ever for a biotechnology firm, raising $625 million by selling shares. That offering was driven by the strength of an obesity and metabolic disease portfolio that Kailera licensed from its Chinese partner, Hengrui Pharma.
Among the assets in that portfolio is a dual acting injectable drug called ribupatide, which is designed to have superior properties compared to Lilly's Zepbound. Kailera believes that both its oral and injectable candidates can carve out a place in the expanding obesity drug market. However, Kailera and Hengrui have not yet completed a Phase 2 trial in obesity in the kind of broader study population that the Food and Drug Administration expects.
The obesity drug market is so large that many companies think there is room for multiple products and treatment approaches. Patients looking for fast and substantial weight loss may choose injectable medicines like Zepbound or the experimental retatrutide. In clinical testing, Zepbound helped people lose about one fifth of their body weight on average, and retatrutide may be even more powerful.
Oral medications offer convenience for those who want to avoid frequent injections. The currently approved pills from Lilly and Novo Nordisk are not as effective as their injectable counterparts, but they provide an alternative. The Phase 3 results for HRS-7535 suggest it could become a comparable oral option, although Kailera and Hengrui will need to prove its effectiveness in a longer, global study similar to those completed by Foundayo and the Wegovy pill.
In clinical testing, the Wegovy pill was associated with about 14 percent weight loss after 64 weeks. Foundayo achieved roughly 11 percent weight loss after 72 weeks. While the weight loss seen with HRS-7535 was numerically lower by comparison, that result is not necessarily surprising. William Blair analyst Andy Hsieh noted that clinical trials in China tend to enroll people with a lower body mass index as well as more men, which can affect the outcomes.
Hsieh expressed significant concern about the safety profile of HRS-7535 based on the Phase 3 data. The trial found that 70 percent of participants who received the drug experienced nausea, and between 67 and 69 percent reported vomiting. The rates "alarmed" Hsieh and his team. "In our view, reducing the rate of nausea and vomiting to roughly mid-30% and mid-20%, respectively, will yield a competitive profile," Hsieh wrote.
Kailera is already taking steps to address these tolerability issues. In an ongoing global Phase 2 trial, the company is starting with a lower dose and exploring a "nighttime" dosing cohort, Hsieh pointed out. Despite the gastrointestinal side effects, the trial showed no signs of liver toxicity, which was a key concern because HRS-7535 has structural similarities to Pfizer's now shelved obesity pill danuglipron.
The absence of liver toxicity is a positive signal for the drug's safety, but the high rates of nausea and vomiting remain a major hurdle. Kailera will need to demonstrate that it can manage these side effects through careful dosing strategies to establish HRS-7535 as a viable competitor in the oral obesity market. The ongoing Phase 2 trial is designed to test whether a lower starting dose and nighttime administration can improve tolerability and bring the gastrointestinal side effect rates down to competitive levels.
Peptides referenced: Semaglutide, Tirzepatide, Retatrutide, Danuglipron, GLP-1.
Related reading: Online GLP-1 Prescribing Lacks Adequate Safety and Oversight, Secret Shopper Study Finds Easy Access to GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Online, Health Canada Approves Mounjaro for Children 10 and Older with Type 2 Diabetes, Americans Hit Record High in Use of GLP-1 Drugs.