Updated version 3 - Eli Lilly's weight loss drug wins support from the European Medicines Agency

Background information on Foundayo's US listing has been added in paragraph 9.

Reuters, October 16 - The European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) committee on Friday recommended approval of Eli Lilly’s LLY.N weight-loss drug Foundayo. This follows Novo Nordisk’s NOVOb.CO Wegovy, making Foundayo the second oral weight-loss drug to receive the agency’s support.

The recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, after which the drug can be finally approved for market entry in the region.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are both racing to expand the reach of their oral medications, aiming to capture a larger share of what is expected to become a market worth over 10 billion dollars by 2030.

Foundayo was launched in the US in April and in the UK in August (link), achieving sales of 98 million dollars in the second quarter. Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy tablets generated 3.22 billion Danish crowns (about 484.5 million dollars) in the same quarter.

The drug received EU approval in July (link) and is now available in the US, UK, and UAE.

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) last Friday recommended the approval of Foundayo for adult weight management and the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

The agency stated that its recommendation for Foundayo’s use in weight management was based on two studies involving more than 4,740 adults with obesity or overweight. Patients treated with Foundayo lost up to 11% of their body weight.

This oral tablet has been submitted for marketing approval in more than 40 countries by Eli Lilly. Its active ingredient is orforglipron, a small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist that helps suppress appetite and reduce food intake.

Early data on US oral weight-loss drug prescriptions (link) suggest that such oral medications could expand the obesity treatment market by attracting patients who previously did not want to use injectables.

However, compared to Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, which launched earlier, Foundayo has seen slower uptake in the US market.

Unlike Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy tablet, Foundayo can be taken at any time of day, with no dietary or fluid intake restrictions—a key advantage that Eli Lilly promotes.

It remains unclear whether patients consider the convenience of Foundayo sufficient to drive wider adoption.

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/OBESITY-PRESCRIPTIONS/OBESITY-PRESCRIPTIONS/egvbgyeabpq/chart.png

(1 US dollar = 6.6460 Danish crowns)

(To assist non-native English speakers, Reuters provides automated translations of its reports into several other languages. Because automated translation may be inaccurate or fail to include necessary context, Reuters does not guarantee the accuracy of this translated text and provides it solely for reader convenience. Reuters accepts no liability for any damage or loss arising from reliance on automated translation.)