Eli Lilly's experimental pill worked as well as blockbuster drug Ozempic to lower weight and blood sugar in a trial of diabetes patients, and the company said it expects to seek regulatory approvals by the end of the year.

Shares of Eli Lilly soared Thursday morning after the pharmaceutical giant announced a clinical trial of its once-daily weight loss pill, orforglipron, demonstrated effectiveness consistent with other injectable GLP-1 weight loss drugs, such as Lilly’s Mounjaro and Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic.

Eli Lilly said clinical results of its GLP-1 in pill form showed safety and efficacy data similar to blockbuster injectable drugs.