LLY - Meet Eli Lilly's Secret Weapon in the Billion-Dollar Weight-Loss Drug Market
2024-04-24 06:40:00 ET
Eli Lilly 's (NYSE: LLY) Zepbound has shown it has what it takes to become a blockbuster. The weight-loss drug, following regulatory approval late last year, brought in $175 million in revenue in just its first few weeks on the market. Doctors and their patients are flocking to weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 agonists, and demand has even surpassed supply. (Lilly's drug actually is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, acting on two pathways involved in digestion instead of just one. Both types of treatments help regulate blood sugar levels and appetite.)
The market for obesity drugs may reach more than $100 billion by 2030, up by 16 times from today, according to Goldman Sachs Research. But one element could get in the way of this spectacular growth story, and that's the fact that Medicare won't reimburse these drugs for weight loss alone. The agency will only offer reimbursement if the drug is also approved and prescribed for a medical condition it covers.
This is a hurdle for many patients, who can't afford the $1,059 list price for a one-month supply of Zepbound. Recent news could help some of these patients, though, and broaden the revenue opportunity for Lilly. Here's the company's secret weapon, one that may help it win in the high-growth weight-loss market.
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Meet Eli Lilly's Secret Weapon in the Billion-Dollar Weight-Loss Drug Market