More people want diabetes and obesity treatments that fit more easily into daily life. That is one reason so much attention is now shifting to oral alternatives to injectable medicines. GLP-1 receptor agonists are a good example. Injectable therapies such as semaglutide, liraglutide and exenatide have changed treatment in a big way. But the growth of oral options points to something bigger: the chance to create medicines that are simpler to take, simpler to distribute, and easier to live with day to day.
Research in adults with chronic disease shows how common needle fear can be. Reported rates ranged from 17% to 52% in cancer, 25% to 47% in chronic kidney disease, and 0.2% to 80% in diabetes (source). That is a wide range, but the message is clear: concerns about injections are real across long-term conditions. For therapy developers, that means oral delivery is not just a technical challenge. It is also a practical way to make treatments more relevant and easier for people to adopt in the real world.
GLP-1 therapies are one of the clearest examples of why oral delivery is getting so much attention. Injectable products such as semaglutide, exenatide and, more recently, tirzepatide have already shown strong clinical and commercial success. Oral formats offer a different kind of value. They can make treatment feel easier to fit into everyday life. That matters even more when you look at the size of the need. According to the IDF Diabetes Atlas, 589 million adults aged 20 to 79 were living with diabetes worldwide in 2024, which is about 1 in 9 adults, and that number is expected to rise to 853 million by 2050. WHO also reports that in 2022, 890 million adults were living with obesity and 43% of adults worldwide were overweight. In therapy areas this large, delivery format matters. The product that wins is not just the one that works well in clinical terms. It is also the one patients and health systems can use and keep using more easily.
Patient experience matters. Tablets and capsules are familiar, and they are often easier to build into daily routines. That can have a real effect on whether people stay on treatment. Early real-world evidence for oral semaglutide supports that idea. A 2025 narrative review in Clinical Therapeutics found that across 19 real-world studies, oral semaglutide delivered a median HbA1c reduction of around 1% and a median body weight reduction of 2 to 3 kg at six months, while showing a safety profile that was broadly in line with clinical trials (source). Other adherence studies suggest oral semaglutide can perform similarly to established oral therapies and, in some groups, may show better persistence than injectable semaglutide over 12 months (source). Put simply, oral options can offer meaningful clinical value while also removing some of the practical barriers that make long-term treatment harder.
What is changing here is not just demand. The science is moving too. Oral GLP-1 development shows how advances in formulation are helping tackle long-standing issues with solubility, permeability, stability and absorption. Success depends on getting the full formulation right, from excipients and film coatings to release technologies and protective packaging. Oral semaglutide is the best-known example, but it is not the only one. Other oral peptide and complex-drug programmes, including oral octreotide, show that smart formulation strategies can open the door for molecules that were once seen as injection-only. As more complex molecules are explored for oral delivery, companies that can turn that complexity into practical, scalable dosage forms will stand out.
GLP-1s may be leading the conversation right now, but the impact goes beyond one drug class. The move from injectables to solid oral dose reflects a broader shift toward medicines that are easier to use, easier to scale and better suited to long-term patient needs. What companies are learning from GLP-1s could shape strategy in other chronic therapy areas too, especially where complex or peptide-based medicines have traditionally depended on injection. As competition grows in metabolic health and beyond, delivery format will likely become a bigger part of product differentiation. Companies that combine strong clinical performance with convenience, manufacturability and access will be in a much better position to succeed in the real world.
As more complex therapies move into oral formats, the ability to create stable, scalable and high-performing dosage forms will become even more important. For companies across the pharmaceutical value chain, the opportunity is not just to follow this shift. It is to help shape it through smarter formulation; a better understanding of patient needs and delivery strategies built for long-term success.
Colorcon helps companies make the move from injectables to solid dosage forms with confidence. We bring decades of expertise, technical facilities for development and scale-up, and a broad range of solutions, including core excipients, film coatings, controlled release systems and controlled atmosphere packaging. Whatever stage your product is at, we can support the journey.
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