Weight loss hype pushed Lilly well ahead of Novo, yet Novo’s early pill win signals a turn toward more affordable, convenient obesity treatments.
Weight and health improvements vanish within two years without sustained use, new research finds.
As more Americans take weight loss drugs, eating, shopping, and healthcare expectations are all evolving
Hims & Hers is officially bringing its subscription weight loss program to the UK. But rising prices of some GLP-1 medications in the UK may lower the incentive for consumers to sign up for a membership with a telehealth company offering prescriptions.
Eli Lilly became the first healthcare or pharma company to reach a $1 trillion valuation. Pharma’s entry into “the trillion-dollar club” is largely driven by success in the obesity treatment category that’s poised to reshape consumer health and wellness. However, Lilly’s particular rapid growth signals that while first-mover advantage in a high-demand disease area matters, it doesn’t guarantee staying on top. Pharma manufacturers can make up for not being first by committing to innovative drug development that drives more efficacious products, pursuing new clinical indications, and correctly anticipating market developments that may impact supply and demand.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly struck a deal with the Trump administration to lower GLP-1 prices in exchange for expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage. It’s by far the most consequential pharma agreement to date For Novo and Lilly, it’s a tradeoff: lower prices for higher patient and prescription volume—a bet that should pay off over time, especially since tariff relief is part of the deal.
The news: Eli Lilly is hiking the UK price of its diabetes and weight loss drug Mounjaro by as much as 170% starting next month, depending on the dose size. The drugmaker also said it’s been working on raising prices of its medications in Europe and other developed countries. Our take: Drug pricing is so complicated that it could benefit pharma manufacturers, because it will be hard to know whether they’re truly equalizing prices or just finding ways around the Trump administration’s demands that other drugmakers could copy.
The news: Eli Lilly’s stock plunged about 14% on Thursday as clinical results of its experimental obesity pill orforglipron fell short of Wall Street expectations. Our take: We think Lilly has the edge over Novo, despite Thursday’s market reversal due to Lilly’s obesity pill falling short in its trial. That’s likely just a near-term blip—12% weight loss in a little over a year validates that the medication is quite effective, especially when considering that most people would prefer a pill to injecting themselves. Lilly also has in its favor that Zepbound drives better weight loss results than Wegovy, while it faces less competition from the copycat GLP-1 market since semaglutide is more commonly compounded than tirzepatide.
Eli Lilly’s blockbuster GLP-1 sales fell short of expectations in Q3: The pharma giant blames wholesalers for not buying more drugs. We think the rise of compounded GLP-1s is also a factor.
Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 medication shortage ends: The host of players who offer compounded versions of the blockbuster drugs don’t have to worry—yet.
Kourtney Kardashian’s Lemme rolls out “GLP-1” weight loss supplement: The move is ingenious from a marketing perspective. But the brand could find itself in drugmakers’ crosshairs with already confusing marketing about the supplement’s key ingredient.
The Ozempic effect could have wide-ranging implications beyond the food industry—if it exists: Apparel makers, beauty brands, and airlines could capitalize as GLP-1 adoption grows, but only if users stick to the meds.
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