Dive Brief:
- Eli Lilly on Thursday announced the launch of its long-anticipated obesity pill Foundayo, setting off a new phase in the battle for dominance of the GLP-1 market.
- Lilly won Food and Drug Administration approval for Foundayo last week, about three months after rival Novo Nordisk got the okay to market an oral version of its own obesity treatment, Wegovy. That pill is off to one of the fastest launches in history.
- The lowest dose of Foundayo is now available starting at $149 a month for patients paying themselves, Lilly said. That matches the price Novo set for the pill version of Wegovy in self-pay patients. The cost for both medicines climbs with the higher doses needed by most people.
Dive Insight:
Lilly is looking to repeat its success in the injectable GLP-1 market, where it has the best-selling drug in the world. Sales of the medicine, sold as Zepbound to treat obesity and Mounjaro for diabetes, topped $36 billion last year as it took market share away from Novo Nordisk’s more established Wegovy/Ozempic treatment.
Both companies say they have a more attractive option in oral form. Though the two drugs haven’t been evaluated head-to-head, patients on the Wegovy pill lost a higher percentage of body weight in clinical trials than those involved in Lilly’s tests of Foundayo. But Lilly touts the ease of Foundayo, which can be taken any time of day without restrictions on food and water. Oral Wegovy must be swallowed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before anything else.
The companies have similar programs to get their drugs to patients, both offering their own online pharmacies with free shipping. Amazon Pharmacy also sells both medicines. On Thursday, Amazon said it has same-day delivery available in almost 3,000 cities and towns and plans to expand its network by the end of the year.
Outside of self-payers, Lilly said certain other patients and those with insurance coverage may pay as little as $25 a month for the starter dose with a Foundayo savings card. Lilly, like Novo, is also looking toward the July 1 expansion of Medicare coverage for GLP-1 medicines to boost sales. Both companies agreed to lower their prices for Medicare as part of a government deal to avoid tariffs, and co-pays for patients may be as little as $50 a month.
It’s still unclear how much the oral versions of the medicines will add to the overall market, versus cannibalizing the existing injectable sales. Lilly CEO David Ricks has argued that the convenience of the pills would widen the patient population; almost all the people who started on the Wegovy pill were trying a GLP-1 medicine for the first time, he told CNBC in January.
