Lilly CEO says weight-loss drug shortage to end ‘very soon’
Meanwhile, Lilly announced that Zepbound improved the long-term health of patients with obesity-related heart failure in a study.
Meanwhile, Lilly announced that Zepbound improved the long-term health of patients with obesity-related heart failure in a study.
Victoza yielded mixed results in a mid-stage study of Alzheimer’s disease, failing to meet its primary goal while showing hints that larger trials of similar drugs may be successful.
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.
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.
The expansion plan includes construction of a 100,000-square-foot building on its corporate campus and the addition of 100 jobs.
Stevanato, an Italian-based life sciences company that makes glass vials and syringes for pharmaceuticals, has committed to paying employees at its new Fishers facility no less than $70,000 annually.
Eli Lilly’s drug—Kisunla, the brand name for donanemab—is one of the few treatments developed for Alzheimer’s that modifies the underlying disease and will join just one other drug, Leqembi, on the commercial market.
The decision also could affect other major bankruptcies, including the $2.4 billion bankruptcy plan for the Boy Scouts of America that has been approved by a federal judge, lawyers said.
The race to score blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro and Zepbound is pushing one of the world’s largest population of people with obesity to creative lengths.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker said Thursday it was taking legal action against at least six additional medical spas and weight loss centers that it claimed are selling counterfeit and compounded versions of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Lilly’s diabetes treatment Mounjaro and weight-loss treatment Zepbound.
A Philadelphia-based company involved in drug delivery and logistics is working with the city of Fishers on an economic development deal that could result in a $40 million investment and 350 new jobs.
At issue is whether a drug developed by Point Biopharma, based in Indianapolis, infringed on a patent issued in 2020 and assigned to Purdue Research Foundation.
Total active shortages hit an all-time high of 323 in this year’s first quarter, according to the University of Utah Drug Information Service. That’s up about 86% since 2017.
Obesity drugs such as Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound are exploding in popularity. But with list prices of $1,000 a month or more, insurers are balking at the prices and trying to limit how widely they’re used.
If the FDA agrees with the panel’s recommendation, the drug, donanemab, would only be the second Alzheimer’s drug cleared in the U.S. that’s been shown to convincingly slow cognitive decline and memory problems due to Alzheimer’s.
Lilly officials have said they are “incredibly confident” in the drug’s potential and the fact that it “offers very meaningful benefits to people with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.”
Anat Ashkenazi was Lilly’s third-highest paid executive last year. She has worked at the company for 23 years, including as chief financial officer since 2021.
If the guidance is confirmed, Mounjaro will challenge the dominance of Novo’s Wegovy in the United Kingdom.
Ro’s tracker is the latest in the frenzy surrounding weight-loss drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.