GLP-1
The FDA accepted Novo Nordisk’s NDA for an oral formulation of Wegovy. The agency is expected to release its verdict on the drug in the fourth quarter of this year.
In an internal memo, the World Health Organization signaled its support for anti-obesity drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound, which the agency decided against listing in 2023, the last time the Essential Medicines list was updated.
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks is confident that weight loss med Zepbound is gaining market share at the expense of Wegovy, even as its rival strikes deals with CVS and Hims & Hers pharmacies.
To say, as CEO David Ricks did, that this was a good quarter, is an understatement. Mounjaro in diabetes brought in $3.84 billion for the quarter while Zepbound in weight loss booked $2.31 billion.
Big compounders will have until May 22 to stop producing and dispensing compounded semaglutide, while smaller, state-run pharmacies must immediately stop making copies of the blockbuster drug.
In December 2024, the FDA affirmed that the shortage of tirzepatide, marketed as Zepbound for weight loss, had ended, formally barring compounders from producing their knockoff versions of the drug.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary talks about his plans to revamp drug development and reduce ‘conflicts of interest’ between the agency and pharma industry; Roche and Regeneron jump on the U.S. manufacturing train as Trump’s tariffs loom; and Eli Lilly scores a big win for orforglipron while Novo Nordisk reveals it has applied for FDA approval of its oral semaglutide.
Novo Nordisk filed for approval of an oral, 25-mg formulation of its weight loss blockbuster “earlier this year,” according to a company spokesperson.
President Donald Trump in February threatened top pharma leaders, including Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, with tariffs unless they reshore their manufacturing operations.
Eli Lilly’s shares shot up 11% pre-market on Thursday after orforglipron became the first small-molecule GLP-1 drug to ace a late-stage study in type 2 diabetes, eliciting significant reductions in body weight and improvements in glucose control.
PRESS RELEASES