Obesity
Right after the FDA flagged safety concerns for Eli Lilly’s newly approved obesity pill, the pharma posted diabetes data demonstrating a clean safety profile and revealed plans to seek approval in the indication.
Commitments in obesity- and diabetes-focused deals reached $22 billion in the first quarter of 2026—already eclipsing last year’s total of $20.3 billion, according to a new J.P. Morgan report.
The FDA is asking Eli Lilly to submit cardiovascular and liver safety data from an ongoing Phase 3 trial of Foundayo by July.
Johnson and Johnson kicked off first-quarter earnings season with a “modest” beat and an ambitious goal; Replimune failed again to gain approval for its advanced melanoma therapy, as analysts tout increased accountability brought by the FDA’s new policy of publicizing complete response letters; and Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer candidate doubled survival in one of cancer’s most intractable foes.
With many overseas patients preferring orals to injectables, Eli Lilly has filed for approval of orforglipron in more than 40 countries and is building manufacturing capacity to support the obesity drug.
Kailera Therapeutics is advancing a pipeline of obesity drugs, led by the GLP-1/GIP dual agonist ribupatide, which the biotech is developing both as an injectable and as a pill.
Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy has a few months’ head start on Eli Lilly’s newly approved pill. While the Indianapolis pharma has come from behind the Danish rival in the weight loss space before, last time it clearly had the better drug.
The approval of Eli Lilly’s oral obesity drug officially ignites an intense competition with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy; Gilead Sciences and Neurocrine Biosciences keep the M&A train chugging; Trump hits pharma with his long promised tariffs, and the FDA proposes many changes with 2027 budget.
After Eli Lilly achieved the milestone approval of the weight loss pill Foundayo, Novo Nordisk launched a full-court press to defend oral Wegovy, which has been enjoying a record-breaking launch since January.
The FDA approved Eli Lilly’s orforglipron—to be known as Foundayo—on Wednesday, officially igniting what analysts believe will be a fierce rivalry with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy.
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