Roche has more than five weight-loss companion medicines, CEO says
The the Swiss drugmaker will face off in the obesity area with leaders Novo Nordisk A/S and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.
The the Swiss drugmaker will face off in the obesity area with leaders Novo Nordisk A/S and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.
Recurrent shortages, shifting insurance coverage, indecision and a lack of guidance about side effects and dosing have led to challenges for some patients prescribed Mounjaro, Ozempic, Zepbound or Wegovy.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker filed a suit in federal court this month, challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s ruling that the company’s experimental obesity treatment not a biological product.
The letter is the latest sign that the battle between the brand-name drug manufacturers and the companies that make and sell the compounded versions has intensified.
The expansion projects will boost production of medicines for Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and obesity.
Lucas Montarce, who has been with Lilly since 2001 and most recently served as president for its Spain, Portugal and Greece operations, is now the company’s CFO and executive vice president.
Lilly and rival Novo Nordisk have been battling the emerging industry making copies of their top-selling diabetes and weight-loss drugs, a situation without modern precedent.
After taking in the Indiana Fever’s victory on Wednesday, Simone Biles and Gabby Thomas discussed teamwork on Thursday with thousands of employees for Team USA sponsor Eli Lilly and Co.
Lilly said its new option will help millions of adults with obesity access the medicine they need, including those not eligible for the Zepbound savings card program, those without employer coverage, and those who need to self-pay outside of insurance.
The longest continuous study of Indianapolis-based Lilly’s drug Zepbound to date included more than 1,000 patients.
Lilly is moving about 200 scientists and researchers who had worked in nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the new center, and plans to add about 300 employees.
The Eli Lilly and Co. and Purdue University Research Alliance Center involves more than 50 researchers and 65 graduate students.
Lilly is buying Morphic for $3.2 billion to gain experimental therapies for inflammatory bowel disease and other chronic illnesses.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said revenue increased 36% in the quarter, to $11.3 billion. Zepbound, the popular obesity drug that launched in December, crossed into blockbuster territory, with sales of $1.23 billion in the quarter.
Meanwhile, Lilly announced that Zepbound improved the long-term health of patients with obesity-related heart failure in a study.
Researchers reported Sunday that new blood tests were 91% accurate in detecting Alzheimer’s disease, far more accurate than a diagnosis from primary care doctors and specialists.
The spotlight is turning to Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. as the next possible member of the so-called “Trillion-Dollar Club,” based on the drugmaker’s climbing stock price and swelling demand for its treatments for diabetes, obesity and other diseases.
It was a mating dance that lasted more than three years. At the end, Eli Lilly and Co. wound up buying a Massachusetts-based biotech developing treatments for inflammatory bowel disease for $3.2 billion.
Shortages of brand-name drugs made by Novo and Eli Lilly and Co. have allowed pharmacies to make what are essentially copies, and telehealth companies like Hims are selling them to patients at a steep discount.
The Roche drug is a once-daily pill, compared to Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold under the brand names Mounjaro (for diabetes) and Zepbound (for obesity), which is a once-weekly shot.