Next-generation weight-loss pills could hit the market in the coming months, with new data raising a key question: Will patients embrace a more convenient alternative to injecting themselves, even if it means losing less weight?

In the first Phase 3 trial of its once-daily oral GLP-1 pill in people with obesity, drugmaker Eli Lilly said Thursday that it helped people lower their weight by an average of 12% after 72 weeks.