Drug shortages

While the regulator conducts another review into the supply of Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, compounders will be able to continue selling their own remixed versions of the blockbuster drug.

Scaling GLP-1 manufacturing capacity remains a key priority for the pharma industry, to help supply catch up with the insatiable demand for weight loss drugs.

BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman called it “another positive indication” for Eli Lilly, whose top-selling diabetes and weight loss drugs are gaining market share as manufacturing continues to expand, while noting the drugmaker could start to benefit heading into third quarter earnings.

Big Pharma has finally gotten its arms around something advocates have wanted for a long time: direct-to-consumer sales. Eli Lilly and Pfizer are leading the way.

Novo Nordisk’s continuing supply problems for semaglutide come as the pharma tries to expand the drug’s indication, opening it up to more patients—and potentially to heavier production pressures.

A day after Eli Lilly’s obesity and weight-loss therapies were removed from the regulator’s database, Novo Nordisk also made strides in boosting the supply of all but one of semaglutide’s shortages.

All doses of Eli Lilly’s type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound are now available, according to an update on Friday to the FDA’s drug shortage database.

The regulator on Friday warned healthcare providers and patients about adverse events linked with dosing errors from compounded versions of Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss and diabetes drugs.

AbbVie and Merck/Daiichi Sankyo were hit this week with Complete Response Letters from the FDA, which rejected their respective drugs due to manufacturing issues.

Nearly all doses of Eli Lilly’s highly popular weight-loss drug Zepbound and type 2 diabetes medication Mounjaro will have limited availability through the second quarter of 2024, according to the regulator.