Eli Lilly’s Zepbound makes leaps and bounds in weight-loss drug market
In the last week, Eli Lilly has announced their partnership with Amazon.com’s pharmacy unit to deliver prescriptions of Zepbound. Zepbound has also surpassed Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy for the number of prescriptions for the week of March 8.
The booming weight-loss drug market is being led by Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. The last 2 weeks have seen Zepbound just edge past Wegovy in the number of prescriptions made in the US, as well as a major partnership announcement with Amazon.com.
Amazon.com’s pharmacy unity will deliver drug prescriptions of Zepbound made through Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer service LillyDirect. LillyDirect was launched in January 2024 to enable access to migraine, diabetes, and obesity drugs for patients directly from the company via online pharmacy Truepill. With the Amazon.com partnership, prescriptions made to LillyDirect will now either be filled and delivered by Amazon Pharmacy or Truepill. Orders will be split between the two companies.
Surging demand for weight-loss drugs such as Zepbound and Wegovy was the impetus for LillyDirect launching. The market is expected to reach US$100 billion by the end of the 2020s. A spokesperson for the drugmaker states that they “looked forward to continuing to enhance LillyDirect with additional medicines, partners, and service providers in the near future.”
The demand for weight-loss drug products does not seem to be slowing any time soon – on March 15, data from IQVIA revealed that new prescriptions for Zepbound reached over 77,000 in the US. This would be the first time prescriptions for Zepbound have surpassed Wegovy since their respective launches. Zepbound launched in the US in December 2023, over 2 years after Wegovy’s approval.
Earlier this month, Wegovy was approved in the US for the indication of reducing risk of strokes and heart attacks in overweight or obese adults. Eli Lilly also produces the diabetes drug Mounjaro, which contains the same API as Zepbound. Mounjaro is forecasted by GlobalData to be the top-selling GLP-1 product by 2029.
Sources:
1. Lilly partners with Amazon to deliver Zepbound and other drugs [Accessed March 19, 2024] https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/lilly-weight-loss-drug-zepbound-new-us-prescriptions-surpass-wegovy-first-time-2024-03-15/
2. Lilly weight-loss drug Zepbound new US prescriptions surpass Wegovy for first time [Accessed March 19, 2024] https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/lilly-weight-loss-drug-zepbound-new-us-prescriptions-surpass-wegovy-first-time-2024-03-15/
Related News
-
News Coronary drug-coated medical device receives US FDA approval
Boston Scientific announced the FDA approval of their medical device AGENT Drug-Coated Balloon (DCB) for the indication of coronary in-stent restenosis in coronary artery disease patients. -
News CPHI Online Webinar Series – Innovative Strategies for B2B Pharma Marketeers
On February 20, 2024, CPHI Online hosted a webinar on Innovative Strategies for B2B Pharma Marketeers. Featuring expert speakers from across the pharmaceutical value chain, this webinar delves into how B2B pharma marketeers can create better content to... -
News Generics threat to Merck’s Bridion as Hikma seeks pre-patent expiry approval
Merck has disclosed they received notice from Hikma Pharmaceuticals for seeking a pre-patent expiry US FDA approval for Hikma’s generic version of Merck’s Bridion. -
News Wegovy® – the weight-loss drug sparking a global race to end obesity
Wegovy®, the weight loss drug from Novo Nordisk has been creating headlines since it’s early testing phases, through it’s approval in June 2021 by the US FDA and January 2022 from the European Medicines Agency, and it continues to do so... -
News US FDA approves three different oncology drugs in 1 week
In the last week, the US FDA has granted approval/accelerated approval to three different oncology drugs, each from different drugmakers with different indications. -
News What the Novo Holdings and Catalent deal means for pharma outsourcing
On February 5, 2024, Novo Holdings announced their intention to acquire pharma and biotech CDMO Catalent at US$16.5 billion. Read more about what this means for the pharmaceutical industry as a whole, from drugmakers to their partners in manufacturing.... -
News Key takeaways from Saudi Arabia's National Biotechnology Strategy
In January 2024, Saudi Arabia released its National Biotech Strategy, an ambitious plan to localise biomanufacturing, incentivise R&D and establish the Kingdom as the regional biotech leader by 2030, and an internationally recognised hub by 2040. -
News Novo Holdings buys CDMO Catalent in US$16.5 billion deal
Novo Nordisk’s holding and investment parent company will acquire the publicly owned CDMO at the end of 2024, taking it private and selling three of its drug manufacturing facilities to Novo Nordisk.
Position your company at the heart of the global Pharma industry with a CPHI Online membership
-
Your products and solutions visible to thousands of visitors within the largest Pharma marketplace
-
Generate high-quality, engaged leads for your business, all year round
-
Promote your business as the industry’s thought-leader by hosting your reports, brochures and videos within your profile
-
Your company’s profile boosted at all participating CPHI events
-
An easy-to-use platform with a detailed dashboard showing your leads and performance