The Brief

Millions of people use injectable drugs like Wegovy to reach a healthier weight. But the weekly injections aren't for everybody — or every wallet.

That's why experimental pills that could achieve similar results are drawing so much attention.

The medicines haven't yet won approval from the Food and Drug Administration, but the first one could get the green light by the end of the year.

"The patient community in the obesity space has … gone without treatment for so long," says Tracy Zvenyach, director of policy strategy and alliances at the nonprofit Obesity Action Coalition. "So new innovations, new treatments to treat this chronic disease — all are welcome. All are exciting." The coalition receives financial support from multiple drugmakers, including Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly and Pfizer.

Here's what you need to know — from how much the pills might cost to how they work.

1. Two new pills are (probably) coming

Novo Nordisk's obesity pill is expected to be approved first. It has the same ingredient — semaglutide — that's in Wegovy, Ozempic and also in Rybelsus, the company's Type 2 diabetes pill that was approved in 2019.

The difference between this new pill and Rybelsus is the dose. There's more semaglutide in the new pill.

Novo Nordisk's main competitor is Eli Lilly, which makes Zepbound and Mounjaro. And it's working on an obesity pill, too. But instead of using the same ingredient that is in its blockbuster injectables, tirzepatide, the company is working on a new one for its obesity pill that is called orforglipron.

2. Patients will take the pills daily, not weekly

The pills need to be taken every day, but the injectables are once a week.

For Novo Nordisk, it was a challenge making a semaglutide pill that wasn't immediately broken down in the stomach before the medicine could be absorbed. So the scientists there added an ingredient that would protect the pill for 30 minutes while it is being absorbed. It's a mouthful: sodium N-(8-[2-hydroxybenzoyl]amino)caprylate, or SNAC for short.

"If you think about dropping an Alka-Seltzer tablet in a glass of water, that immediate fizzy reaction that occurs, that is what happens in your stomach," says Andrea Traina, one of Novo Nordisk's obesity directors. "It creates this little foamy environment directly around the tablet."

That foam prevents a stomach enzyme from breaking the tablet down, lowers the stomach's acidity ever so slightly, and makes the cells under the pill a little bit more permeable so the semaglutide can get absorbed into the bloodstream more easily. The process takes about 30 minutes. It has to be taken on an empty stomach.

Eli Lilly's orforglipron is a little different. It's not as vulnerable to being broken down in the stomach.

"It has no food or water restrictions," says Dr. Max Denning, one of Eli Lilly's senior medical directors. "You can take it orally, and it's very effectively absorbed without any additional absorption enhancers or administration restrictions."

3. They both work, but one appears to have an edge

In a study published in September in the New England Journal of Medicine, a 25 mg semaglutide pill led to a 16.6% reduction in weight on average over 64 weeks. That's about the same as Wegovy.

Eli Lilly's obesity pill, orforglipron, had a 12.4% average weight loss at its highest dose over 72 weeks, which means it's less effective than injections on the market.

The drugs have similar side effects to the injectables, including nausea and diarrhea.

4. These pills should cost less than the injectables

Pills tend to be cheaper than injectables, so patients are hoping they'll be more affordable than the brand-name injected medicines with list prices of over $1,000 a month — and that insurance companies will be more likely to cover them.

"It's easier to manufacture and the cost ultimately should be lower," says Dr. Richard Siegel, co-director of the Diabetes and Lipid Center at Tufts Medical Center. "One of the big problems with all of the medicines in this arena has been the cost. And can we equitably get these medicines to the millions, really, of people who might benefit from them?"

According to a recent poll by KFF, a nonprofit health policy research organization, 1 in 8 people is currently taking an injectable drug in this class. While most of them have at least some insurance coverage, more than half said they had difficulty affording the drugs.

Since early 2025, the drugmakers have made these medicines available at a discount to patients not using their health insurance, and the prices have come down a bit over time. As of early November, when Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly announced deals with the Trump administration, the starting dose of Zepbound will be available for $299 a month for people buying without using insurance. And Wegovy will now be available for $349 a month.

While neither company has announced an official list price for the experimental pills, their Trump administration deals say that if their oral obesity medicines are approved, they'll sell them directly to consumers for $149 a month. That means patients can get this price if they don't use their health insurance.

Still, if the pills get better insurance coverage, copays could be significantly lower than that.

5. The FDA could act soon on the first two, and more new drugs are in the works

Novo Nordisk's obesity pill is expected to win approval before the end of the year.

Eli Lilly, on the other hand, has said it will submit orforglipron for FDA approval this year. The drug won a priority review voucher from the agency, which could mean the agency will make a decision "within months."

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are also working on the next generation of these drugs, which could prove to be even more effective than the ones already on the market.

Novo Nordisk is studying another compound called cagrilintide and a combination of cagrilintide and semaglutide. And Eli Lilly is studying retatrutide. Both are in Phase 3 clinical trials.

Meanwhile, another company, Metsera, has several obesity drugs in its pipeline, though none is in late-stage clinical trials yet. Novo Nordisk tried to acquire the company, but it ultimately lost out to Pfizer, which completed the acquisition that could ultimately be worth more than $10 billion.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Walk through cities around the world and it's easy to spot the trend: utility boxes painted and transformed into public art to spiff up neighborhoods.

In downtown Los Angeles, street artist S.C. Mero has taken the idea of the utility box as art in a different direction with one she’s installed in the Arts District.

“Would you like me to open it up and you can see?” she asked on a recent morning.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary electrical cabinet — gray and about the size of a refrigerator. But instead of the usual fire-resistant metal, this one is made of wood with a faux concrete base.

The box theater incognito.

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Courtesy of S.C. Mero

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She spins two combination locks and pulls open the door.

A hidden theater

Inside, instead of a tangle of cables and cords, crushed red velvet covers the walls from top to bottom.

A gilded clock and gold-framed pictures of two other electrical boxes (“possibly its mother, and its great-grandfather”) adorn the tiny interior, inspired by one of downtown’s oldest movie palaces, the Los Angeles Theatre.

“The first time I went into that theater, the feeling that I had, I wanted people to have a similar feeling when they opened this up,” she said.

Like the theater, the box is meant to bring audiences together. Mero invites performers to step inside and since its installation a few weeks ago, some 30 poets, magicians, puppeteers and clowns have reached out about using the space.

Many are female artists.

“Maybe it's because of the scale of it, they feel like they can actually have a chance to get inside,” Mero said.

A tradition of unexpected art

The box theater sits across the street from the historic American Hotel, an early hub for artists in the neighborhood.

Jesse Easter, the hotel’s night manager, has a front-row seat to the box theater performances.

“It was the seminal message of the Arts District is still alive,” he says.

Easter first arrived in the neighborhood in the 1980s, a blues and rock musician who also professionally installed art.

He said the Arts District has long been known for unconventional public art. Famously in 1982, artist Dustin Shuler pinned a Cessna airplane to the side of the American Hotel with a 20-foot-long nail.

“I was one of the people that was in the hotel that saw the room that the nail came down into, went through the brick wall, into the floor and stopped,” Easter recalls.

Easter says Mero’s installations boldly continue that tradition of guerilla street art in the neighborhood.

After graduating from USC in 2011, she started to make sculptural works with overlooked street fixtures, exploring issues such as addiction and homelessness.

Before the box theater, there was a giant mailbox.

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Courtesy of S.C. Mero

)

Before the theater box, Mero installed an oversized mailbox at the same corner towering over passersby, symbolizing a housing market that remains out of reach for many Angelenos.

Elsewhere in the Arts District, she has installed a 13-foot-tall parking meter sculpture, commentary on the overwhelming nature of parking in the city.

Realizing a dream 

The box theater is perhaps the piece that has invited the most participation.

Jesse Easter, a musician and night manager at the American Hotel, prepares to perform at the box theater.

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Courtesy of S.C. Mero

)

Last week, Mero asked Easter and other local artists to perform there. He played a blues song he wrote more than 40 years ago when he first moved to the Arts District.

“It was sunset and I was thinking, this kind of is the bookend,” he said.

Other participants performed spoken word poetry and played saxophone.

One performer, Mike Cuevas, discovered the theater by accident.

An Uber driver, Cuevas was waiting for his next delivery order by the box theater as it was being prepped ahead of the night’s performance.

Mero recalls him getting out of his car to look at what she was doing.

“He's like, what's going on here? This looks so cool,” Mero said. “He said as he's driving throughout the city, in between his rides, he writes poetry.”

Cuevas, who goes by the pen name Octane 543-12, left to make a delivery in East L.A., but he said “something in his heart” told him to return that evening.

After watching others perform, he stepped up to the box and read his poetry in public for the first time, a piece about Latino pride.

Mike Cuevas, aka Mike Octane 543-12, publicly reads his poetry for the first time.

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Courtesy of S.C. Mero

)

“Another generation will pass through,” he recited. “And they'll understand why we honor with proud delight, the continuous fight for the history of our brothers and sisters.”

Cuevas didn’t know Mero by name or anything about her work, but thanks her for giving him a venue.

“I just felt something beautiful with her art,” Cuevas said. “It's time for me to start expressing myself. She inspired me to do exactly what she's doing but through poetry.”

He now plans to read again at an open mic in downtown L.A. next week.

An overture to look inside

Mero says the project has spoken to her personally, too. Growing up in Minnesota, she loved art as a child but later focused on playing lacrosse and hockey. At USC, she studied public relations.

“Once I started getting so into art, everyone was kind of shocked,” Mero said. “That's why I really want to encourage people to go inside themselves and see what's there, because you never know.”

Mero is hoping for a long run for the box theater. The mailbox installation before it stayed up for five years, only toppled, she heard, after skateboarders accidentally ran into it.

In the meantime, the small theater sits quietly on the sidewalk waiting for its next performer, its exterior starting to collect graffiti like any other utility box.

It’s whale watching season, which always makes me think of the novel Moby-Dick.

In the book, Captain Ahab chased a whale for vengeance. I recently chased whales off the coast of Los Angeles, but in my case, it was in pursuit of the beauty and majesty of the natural world.

With warm — relative to Alaska — spring waters, migratory rest-stops and great feeding grounds, Los Angeles County’s coast is considered part of the “Blue Highway,” a crucial whale migration corridor and one of the best places to spot the gentle giants.

According to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium program director Jim DiPompei, many whales can be seen right in our backyard.

“There’s a little over 90 species of cetaceans (marine mammals) in the world, and we see about 30% of the species we could possibly see here in Southern California,” DiPompei told The LA Local.

Cetacean species you may spot in our waters include humpback whales, orcas, blue whales and dolphins. Your best chance, however, is spotting a gray whale. As school bus-sized gray whales migrate back and forth between Alaska and Baja, they consistently hug LA’s coastline.

But where should you go to actually get a good look at whales? Don’t worry — I got you. Here’s The LA Local guide to cruising the Blue Highway.

Top spots to watch whales from shore

Point Vicente Interpretive Center
31501 Palos Verdes Drive West, Rancho Palos Verdes
Free, laid-back, on the mountains!

At the Point Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes, you’ll find an overlook dedicated to whale watching. While this is a great free spot for amateurs to come and look out for whales, this is no playground. Professionals conduct the annual whale census here, tracking the migration of whales.

This is a great place to bring a picnic basket and some binoculars to relax while scanning the ocean. Even if you don’t spot any whale action, you can visit the free natural history museum inside, which focuses on the region and its most famous inhabitants: whales. Afterward, step outside and chat with a museum docent accompanying the census watch.

If you want to see whales, stick to the coastal canyons. Canyons aren’t just massive structures above water — they are also mountains beneath the surface, offering depth, cold water and nutrients that attract food for whales. Gray whales tend to follow the canyons to stay away from the dangerous orcas.

Whale spotting 101

Whale watching season typically runs from December through May. It peaks from January to March.

When looking for a whale, try to spot their water mist blowing above the water. Gray whales typically surface for air every five minutes. When they do, they’ll blow out a water mist — that’s your chance to spot and track them until they surface again.

Get on a boat!

If you want to get eye-to-eye and really feel a cetacean’s scale, there are plenty of whale-watching cruises. They typically depart from Marina Del Rey, Redondo Beach, Long Beach, San Pedro, Dana Point and almost anywhere with a port.

Many cruises have a naturalist on board to answer questions and provide expert context to ocean wildlife.

On my tour departing from Long Beach, we saw five gray whales and a swarm of common dolphins feeding.

But be warned: If you get seasick easily, this trip might not be for you. On our two-and-half-hour trip, the boat rocked emphatically as we approached feeding sites. It’s fun if you can imagine yourself on a see-saw, but it might not be that enjoyable if that sounds nauseating.

While boat captains are not allowed to approach the whales too closely due to environmental protections, the whales can approach the boat if they choose. Sometimes the whales seem curious and watch us in return — it’s up to them and how they are feeling.

Get involved

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
3720 Stephen M. White Drive, San Pedro

If you really catch the whale-watching bug, you’re in luck.

At the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, they offer a whale-watching naturalist program where you can volunteer and train to be a naturalist on board whale-watching cruises.

DiPompei said they train anyone over the age of 18 “who’s interested in learning about whales and volunteering their time to be on these whale-watching boats to talk to the general public and to talk to students.”

This program was started in the 1970s by John Olge, one of the founders of Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, with an emphasis on education and showing schoolchildren the beauty of our natural world.

The aquarium is also a great place to introduce whales to children. With kid-sized exhibits and educational programs throughout the year, it’s an ideal way to show young ones just how big and beautiful our oceans are.

Despite the loss of federal subsidies that lowered costs for millions, California’s private health insurance marketplace held nearly steady this enrollment season. In all, 1.9 million Californians renewed their plan or selected one for the first time — a 2.7% drop compared to last year.

A closer look, however, shows Californians are making concessions to afford staying insured.

More enrollees are opting for “bronze-level” plans. These plans have lower monthly premium costs but higher deductibles and copays; they cover 60% of medical expenses — leaving enrollees to pay the rest. One-in-three new enrollees chose bronze plans for 2026, compared to one-in-four last year, according to Covered California. And 130,000 Californians renewing their coverage switched from a silver or higher-metal tier plan to bronze.

“Many Californians see the value in remaining covered, but they had to make sacrifices and shift to lower-tier plans. We see it as a commitment to health and the value that Covered California provides,” Jessica Altman, Covered California’s executive director said in a statement.

While bronze-level plans may offer people some peace of mind, the high deductibles and copays tend to discourage people from seeking care, said Miranda Dietz, director of the Health Care Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center.

“Those out-of-pocket costs do impact people’s decisions to get care, so that’s worrisome as well,” Dietz said.

People earning above 400% of the federal poverty level — $62,600 for an individual and $128,600 for a family of four — no longer qualify for premium assistance after Congress chose not to extend the enhanced subsidies at the end of last year, pushing many to opt for plans with cheaper premiums or drop their marketplace plans entirely.

Of the 224,000 middle-income enrollees set to renew, 22% cancelled their plans, according to Covered California. New sign ups for people in this income bracket decreased by 59% compared to last year.

Whether those who renewed coverage or newly signed up continue to pay their premiums is another question. A clearer picture of who stays enrolled will emerge around April, Covered California said.

“Once you actually face the prospect of paying that premium and the stress that puts on your budget, it’s entirely possible that some of those folks may fall off, and the [enrollment] numbers might go down,” Dietz said.

Affording care: A growing stress point 

It’s unknown whether people who cancelled their marketplace health plans are enrolling in other types of insurance. Covered California data from the last five years show that when people terminate their marketplace plan, 10% to 14% of them report becoming uninsured.

The Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies, first enacted in 2021 as part of federal COVID-19 response, helped lower the insurance costs for millions of Americans. They especially helped middle-income earners by allowing them to qualify for financial assistance for the first time, capping premiums at 8.5% of income. That help is now gone, and premiums are up an average of 10%.

Lower-income enrollees remain eligible for standard federal premium aid available since ACA marketplaces launched. They also benefit from state help. California allocated $190 million in 2026 to provide state-funded tax credits for people who earn up to 165% of the federal poverty level — $25,823 for an individual or $53,048 for a family of four — averaging about $45 a month per enrollee.The end of the enhanced federal subsidies also come at a time when poll after poll shows health care costs are a growing stress point for people. Seven in 10 Californians say health care expenses place a financial strain on their household, according to a recent survey by the California Health Care Foundation. Four in 10 have medical debt and six in 10 report skipping care. Meanwhile, eight in 10 Californians say making health care affordable is an “extremely” or “very” important priority for state officials and lawmakers in 2026.