1 day Ago By Madison Muller
Eli Lilly & Co. shares surged after its experimental pill helped patients shed weight and control blood sugar about as well as Ozempic, an advance that could turbocharge what’s already one of the fastest-growing markets in medicine. Shares of the drug’s originator Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.
also soared. The triumph of Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes shot from Novo Nordisk A/S, and related drugs including Zepbound and Mounjaro from Lilly, has set off an all-out push to develop a pill that’s easier to take and less expensive to make. While rivals including Pfizer Inc.
have suffered setbacks, analysts said success is critical to creating the $130 billion market they predict by the end of the decade. Results of the Lilly-funded study provide a promising first look. Diabetics given the pill called orforglipron lost 16 pounds, or 7.
9% of their body weight, over a 40-week period. That was more than similar patients shed in earlier studies of Ozempic. Those getting the pill hadn’t hit a weight plateau when the study ended, suggesting they may lose even more, the company said in a statement.
Blood sugar levels fell by an average of 1.3%, slightly underperforming rival injections..
