Structure Therapeutics' oral obesity drug aleniglipron delivered up to 16.3% weight loss when compared with a placebo after 44 weeks of treatment in a mid-stage study, it said on Monday.

Drug developers are racing to enter the highly competitive and booming weight-loss drug market dominated by injectable drugs like Novo's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound. But momentum is now shifting toward oral treatments that are easier to produce and could boost adherence, especially among patients who prefer to avoid needles.

Analysts have previously estimated that weight loss of up to 16% would make Structure's aleniglipron competitive with other pills.

At 36 weeks, the drug had shown weight loss of up to 15.3% at the 240 mg dose.