Eli Lilly and Company discovers, develops, manufactures, and markets human pharmaceutical products in the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and internationally. Its cardiometabolic health portfolio includes Basaglar, Humalog, Humalog Mix 75/25, Humalog U-100, Humalog U-200, Humalog Mix 50/50, insulin lispro, insulin lispro protamine, insulin lispro mix 75/25, Humulin, Humulin 70/30, Humulin N, Humulin R, and Humulin U-500 for diabetes; Jardiance, Mounjaro, and Trulicity for type 2 diabetes; and Zepbound for obesity. The company also offers oncology products such as Cyramza, Erbitux, Inluriyo, Jaypirca, Retevmo, TYVYT, and Verzenio, as well as immunology products including Ebglyss, Olumiant, Omvoh, and Taltz. Additionally, it provides Emgality for migraine prevention and episodic cluster headache, and Kisubla for symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. Eli Lilly has collaborations with Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. for the Jardiance product family; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Genentech, Inc. for lebrikizumab; license agreements with Almirall, S.A. for Ebglyss and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd for orforglipron; a strategic collaboration with Ascidian Therapeutics for undisclosed monogenic kidney diseases; and BioArctic AB (publ) for a new treatment. Founded in 1876, Eli Lilly and Company is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana.
FDA Grants Full Approval to Lilly's Inluriyo Plus Verzenio for ESR1-Mutated Breast Cancer
Eli Lilly and Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval to Inluriyo, or imlunestrant, in combination with Verzenio, or abemaciclib, for adults with ER-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer whose disease progressed after at least one line of endocrine therapy. The decision rests on the Phase 3 EMBER-3 trial, in which the combination doubled median progression-free survival versus Inluriyo alone, at 11.1 months versus 5.5 months, with a hazard ratio of 0.53 and a 95% confidence interval of 0.35 to 0.80, among the 159 patients with ESR1-mutated metastatic breast cancer. In that trial, 92 patients received Inluriyo alone and 67 received the combination after an aromatase inhibitor, with or without a CDK4/6 inhibitor, in either the adjuvant or metastatic setting. The approval marks the second FDA clearance for Inluriyo in less than a year, following its September 2025 monotherapy approval for the same ER-positive, HER2-negative, ESR1-mutated metastatic population. Inluriyo is also being studied in the Phase 3 EMBER-4 trial in the adjuvant setting for ER-positive, HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer, the largest adjuvant oral SERD trial with more than 8,000 patients enrolled across 650-plus sites in more than 30 countries, with initial results anticipated in 2027. The combination is now available in the United States.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar Resets Obesity Strategy With "Novo Way"
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar is resetting the drugmaker's culture and competitive focus under a new "Novo Way" emphasizing customer focus, competitiveness, clarity and care, as the company rebrands to the day-to-day name "Novo" after losing ground to Eli Lilly in obesity drugs. Novo pioneered the modern obesity-drug market with Wegovy in the U.S. in 2021, but Eli Lilly has since gained ground with Zepbound and more aggressive consumer-focused commercialization. Novo has moved into oral obesity treatment with its Wegovy pill, and expects oral drugs to account for more than one-third of GLP-1 obesity-treatment use by 2030; analysts expect the U.S. obesity-treatment market to exceed $100 billion annually by 2030. Novo's Wegovy pill had captured roughly 90% of the U.S. oral-obesity market as of August, although Lilly subsequently said its Foundayo treatment had already captured more than 30% of new U.S. oral-treatment patients. Doustdar's message is that Novo must operate differently to defend and expand its position, and the company's September 21 capital-markets day should show investors how the "Novo Way" will translate into stronger competitive performance.
Eli Lilly Partners With QurCan Therapeutics on Genetic Medicines for Nervous System Diseases
Eli Lilly has entered an exclusive research collaboration with QurCan Therapeutics to develop genetic medicines for nervous system diseases. The agreement centers on QurCan's polymer lipid nanoparticle delivery platform for central and peripheral nervous system targets, with Eli Lilly responsible for later development and commercialization. Lilly is also making a strategic investment in QurCan Therapeutics, tying capital directly to progress in genetic medicine delivery technology. The deal pushes Lilly further toward expansion in neurodegenerative and other specialty drugs alongside its well known GLP 1 portfolio, though pricing pressure and payer pushback still hang over Mounjaro, Zepbound and Foundayo. Investors will want to see a first concrete output such as a nominated development candidate or an announced IND timeline for at least one nervous system genetic therapy.
Novo Nordisk Halts Two More Ziltivekimab Heart Trials After July Failure
Novo Nordisk A/S halted two additional trials of its experimental cardiovascular drug ziltivekimab, further denting the Danish drugmaker's efforts to diversify beyond its blockbuster obesity and diabetes franchise. The move follows a July disclosure that ziltivekimab failed to reduce major adverse cardiovascular events in a late-stage trial. An independent data monitoring committee found a low likelihood that the two additional heart-failure studies would produce a different result from that earlier failure, prompting Novo to end them ahead of schedule. Novo will continue testing ziltivekimab in patients recovering from a heart attack, with results expected in the first half of 2027. The company's oral Wegovy pill has already generated more than 2 million prescriptions shortly after its January 2026 launch, as Novo competes with Eli Lilly in the oral GLP-1 market.
Low-Dose GLP-1 Weight-Loss Drugs Still Work, Study Finds
A new study reported by Reuters on August 31, 2026 found that patients who stay on the lowest starter doses of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs still lose weight, though far less than at full recommended doses, and experience less nausea. Patients on Eli Lilly's low-dose tirzepatide lost an average of 5.5% of their body weight over a year, versus 2.2% for Novo Nordisk's low-dose semaglutide, compared with 20.2% and 13.7% respectively at the higher, manufacturer-recommended doses seen in earlier trials. The low-dose tirzepatide group also showed higher rates of certain side effects, including constipation and muscle cramps, than the low-dose semaglutide group. The findings support an overall patient base for both companies, since many patients struggle with cost, tolerability, supply, or their personal weight-loss goals, and evidence that lower doses still work could help more patients remain on treatment. However, low-dose treatment could reduce revenue per patient if more users avoid higher maintenance doses, and the study highlights a difficult trade-off between efficacy and tolerability as competition intensifies.
Twist Bioscience Strikes Lilly TuneLab Antibody Data Deal
Twist Bioscience announced on 16 September 2026 an agreement with Lilly TuneLab under which Twist will provide antibody characterization data services using preferred Twist protocols to generate high-quality wet lab data that feed Lilly's AI/ML drug discovery models. The collaboration plugs Twist's DNA and antibody capabilities into Lilly's AI-driven discovery ecosystem, potentially deepening its role in data-rich, AI-enhanced antibody development workflows across the biopharma industry. The deal follows Twist's US$300,000,000 follow-on equity raise in August 2026, a pairing that highlights a company still funding growth externally while positioning itself as a preferred data and DNA supplier to big pharma and AI drug discovery partners. Twist's narrative projects $753.3 million in revenue and $127.9 million in earnings by 2029, yielding a $105.30 fair value, a 26% downside to its current price, while some of the most optimistic analysts already expected revenue of about US$715,300,000 and earnings of roughly US$128,500,000 by 2029. The agreement may reinforce that bullish view on AI-driven demand, though it does not by itself resolve the near-term issue of achieving a credible path toward breakeven or reduce dependence on a concentrated set of large NGS customers.
Asia Plus highlights NOVOB80 as Novo Nordisk teams up with Anthropic to use AI to elevate R&D, target price 1.62 baht
Asia Plus Securities said in an analysis that Novo Nordisk A/S is advancing its collaboration with Anthropic to apply artificial intelligence, or AI, in its research and development processes, including the discovery and development of new drugs. It plans to use Claude Science and Agentic AI technology to improve data analysis efficiency, shorten research timelines, and accelerate the process of bringing products to market. The collaboration reflects Novo Nordisk's strategy to elevate the organization into a more AI-driven healthcare company, alongside its emphasis on data governance and human oversight. The research team holds a positive view of this collaboration, assessing that it will help raise R&D efficiency and improve the quality of drug products in development, which is a key factor amid intensifying competition in the obesity and diabetes drug market, especially competition with Eli Lilly. However, the research team assesses that the positive effect on the share price in the short term remains limited, since the project is still in its early stages and the impact on revenue and profit cannot yet be clearly evaluated. As for Novo Nordisk shares, or NOVOB DC, they recently stood at 272.60 Danish kroner, while the Depositary Receipt, or NOVOB80, stood at 1.42 baht, using a reference exchange rate of 5.12 baht per Danish krone and a conversion ratio of 1 underlying share per 1,000 DR units. The research team gives a buy recommendation, with a one-year target price for NOVOB DC of 315.89 Danish kroner, equivalent to a target price for NOVOB80 of 1.62 baht. On the technical view for NOVOB80, the price is expected to move sideways, with support at 1.30-1.34 baht and resistance at 1.50-1.58 baht.
Ginkgo Datapoints Partners with Lilly TuneLab to Link AI Drug Discovery Models to Lab Data
Ginkgo Bioworks announced that its Ginkgo Datapoints offering has entered a new agreement with Lilly TuneLab, the collaborative AI/ML drug discovery platform created by Eli Lilly and Company. Under the deal, Ginkgo Datapoints will provide discovery data generation services, including small molecule developability (ADME) and antibody developability testing, to companies participating in TuneLab. John Androsavich, General Manager at Ginkgo Datapoints, said the combination of Ginkgo's automation and TuneLab's collaboration platform aims to accelerate next-generation therapeutic development across the industry, letting participants close the loop between digital design and biological reality faster than ever before. Ginkgo said its antibody and small molecule developability screening can turn around results in ML-ready formats that plug directly into TuneLab's predictive models, closing the loop between an AI-generated hypothesis and validated lab data in days rather than months. The standardized assay protocols are expected to help AI/ML models learn more efficiently, and new TuneLab members can now submit Datapoints-generated data to access additional platform model benefits. Lilly TuneLab is part of Lilly Catalyze360, alongside Lilly Ventures, Lilly Gateway Labs, and Lilly ExploR&D.
Circle Pharma Raises $92.5 Million Series E for Cyclin D1 Cancer Program
Circle Pharma, Inc. announced an oversubscribed $92.5 million Series E financing led by The Column Group, with participation from Nextech Invest, RA Capital Management, Euclidean Capital and a strategic investment from Eli Lilly and Company. Proceeds will advance CID-165, a first-in-class oral macrocyclic cyclin D1 RxL inhibitor, through early clinical development for ER-positive breast cancer, while also supporting the company's broader pipeline of cyclin-targeted macrocycles. CID-165 is expected to enter clinical development in the first quarter of 2027, and has demonstrated robust anti-tumor activity in cyclin D1-driven preclinical cancer models, including in combination with CDK4/6-dual inhibitors, CDK4-selective inhibitors and endocrine therapies. President and chief executive officer David J. Earp said the financing provides resources to generate meaningful clinical data, adding that CID-165 has the potential to become a new backbone therapy for ER-positive breast cancer. Chief scientific officer Marie Evangelista said CID-165 is designed to selectively disrupt the interaction between cyclin D1 and retinoblastoma protein, and that preclinical activity supports advancing the program into the clinic in the first quarter of 2027.
Novo Nordisk Shares Fall 2% After Rebrand as Analyst Keeps Hold Rating
Novo Nordisk shares fell 2% on Tuesday even after the drugmaker introduced a new brand identity and updated its corporate culture, as an analyst said the changes may need to be supported by a broader strategy. BMO Capital analyst Evan Seigerman kept a Hold rating and a $47 price target on the shares, implying about 8% upside from current levels. The company began using the name Novo in its branding and introduced The Novo Way, a culture centered on patients and consumers, while its legal corporate name remains Novo Nordisk A/S. Seigerman viewed the rollout of the Wegovy pill as a positive development but said the company still needs to show how it can maintain growth over the next decade, and he pointed to pressure from Eli Lilly in diabetes and obesity treatments as a concern.
Lilly's Foundayo Captures Over 30% of New U.S. Oral Weight-Loss Patients
Eli Lilly and Company says its newly launched oral obesity drug Foundayo has captured more than 30% of new U.S. patients starting oral weight-loss medicines, a notable early gain against Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill. Reuters reports that Wegovy initially held roughly 90% of the oral market, making Lilly's rapid share capture an important sign that the oral GLP-1 market is becoming a two-player competition rather than a Novo-dominated segment. The broader U.S. obesity-drug market is expected to exceed $100 billion annually by 2030, with oral treatments potentially accounting for more than one-third of GLP-1 use. Foundayo was only launched in the U.S. in April 2026, starting at $149 per month for self-pay patients and as little as $25 for eligible commercially insured patients, while Medicare beneficiaries can access it through the GLP-1 Bridge program at $50 per month. Lilly's SEC filing says Mounjaro and Zepbound already represented 65% of its revenue in the first six months of 2026, highlighting both the importance of the incretin franchise and the opportunity for Foundayo to broaden Lilly's cardiometabolic revenue base.
Novo Nordisk Rebrands as "Novo" in Strategic Reset as Lilly Pressure Mounts
Novo Nordisk A/S is rebranding its day-to-day identity as "Novo" and launching a cultural reset aimed at regaining competitiveness in the obesity-drug market as pressure from Eli Lilly intensifies, according to Reuters. The move precedes the company's September 21 Capital Markets Day, where it plans to unveil new strategic ambitions. Novo generated DKK 309.1 billion of 2025 sales and DKK 127.7 billion of operating profit, with obesity-care sales rising 31% at constant exchange rates to DKK 82.3 billion, though its diabetes value-market share fell 3.6 percentage points to 30.1% and it spent around DKK 8 billion on its transformation in 2025. Novo remains the global obesity-market leader with a 59.6% branded-volume share in 2025, but Lilly is narrowing the gap, with Q2 2026 Mounjaro sales jumping 91% to $9.94 billion and Zepbound generating $4.93 billion, while Novo's oral Wegovy sales of $497 million came in below expectations. Lilly subsequently raised its 2026 revenue forecast to $85 billion-$87 billion, and Novo faces expectations of a 5%-13% decline in 2026 sales amid pricing pressure.
Redwire Expands Microgravity Platform With 11 ISS Payload Facilities
Redwire Corporation is expanding its microgravity capabilities beyond traditional space missions into scientific research, biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. The company has built a growing microgravity platform with 11 active payload facilities on the International Space Station as of Dec. 31, 2025, and has launched 42 Pharmaceutical In-space Laboratory – Bio-crystal Optimization eXperiment, or PIL-BOX, payloads. During 2025, Redwire entered a licensing agreement with ExesaLibero Pharma under which it is eligible to receive royalties from commercial sales of resulting pharmaceutical products. Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly have both partnered with Redwire on PIL-BOX missions to study pharmaceutical molecules and crystal growth in microgravity. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 and 2027 earnings per share suggests year-over-year growth of 57.32% and 40%, respectively, while Redwire trades at a forward 12-month price-to-sales of 4.92X versus an industry average of 2.29X.
Eli Lilly Q2 Revenue Jumps 48% to $23 Billion as Merck Grows 5%
Eli Lilly reported second quarter revenue of $22.97 billion, up 47.7% year over year, while Merck posted $16.6 billion, up 5%, according to results from both drugmakers. Lilly's growth was driven by Mounjaro at $9.94 billion, up 91%, and Zepbound at $4.93 billion, up 46%, and the company raised its full-year guidance to $85 to $87 billion with an 85.8% gross margin. Merck's KEYTRUDA family brought in $8.4 billion, growing just 4%, and management said U.S. KEYTRUDA growth will moderate as the drug reaches peak penetration, while a $5.7 billion Terns acquisition charge pushed the company to a reported loss. Lilly's pipeline advanced with retatrutide showing weight loss approaching bariatric surgery levels in Phase 3, orforglipron, branded Foundeo, becoming the first once-daily oral GLP-1 with prescriber counts jumping from roughly 8,000 to 36,000 in one quarter, and FDA clearance of Mounjaro for cardiovascular risk reduction in type 2 diabetes on August 28. Merck is leaning on new launches including Lipvendra, the first oral PCSK9 inhibitor, and WINREVAIR, which grew 75% to $588 million, though GARDASIL China stayed weak and three Phase 3 oncology trials missed. Lilly trades at a forward P/E of 24 versus Merck at 15 with a 2.29% yield.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk paid over 270,000 doctors to promote GLP-1 drugs, one receiving $1M
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have paid more than 270,000 doctors since 2018 to promote GLP-1 weight-loss drugs through medical boards, research, educational seminars and direct outreach to fellow physicians, according to research by the Washington Post. One of those doctors, family physician Dr. Carlos Campos, has received $1 million from drug companies for his GLP-1 promotional work, traveling across the U.S. from his practice in New Braunfels, Texas. Novo Nordisk told Moneywise it follows the highest ethical standards and all legal and regulatory requirements in sharing scientific information with healthcare professionals. Critics such as Georgetown University Medical Center's Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman warn that industry-sponsored continuing medical education courses, which are free to physicians and often led by paid physician-educators, spread drug company marketing messages throughout the profession. A recent Gallup poll found 90% of Americans are aware of GLP-1s and 11% of U.S. adults have prescriptions for weight loss, up from 3% two years ago, while an estimated 30 million Americans will be on GLP-1s by 2030 and the global market could be worth $200 billion.
Lilly to Present New Foundayo, Retatrutide and EloraTZP Data at EASD 2026
Eli Lilly and Company will present new data across its cardiometabolic health portfolio at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, taking place September 28 to October 2, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Pivotal results from the TRIUMPH-2 trial showed retatrutide, an investigational triple hormone receptor agonist, delivered substantial weight loss and A1C improvements in obesity and type 2 diabetes, with adults losing up to an average of 49.6 lbs (22.5 kg; 20.8%) and lowering their A1C by up to an average of 1.6% at 80 weeks. Findings from ACHIEVE-4, the largest and longest study of Foundayo in type 2 diabetes, reaffirmed its safety profile and suggested the potential to provide cardiovascular benefits, demonstrating non-inferiority versus insulin glargine with a 16% lower risk of MACE-4 events and a 23% lower risk of MACE-3 events. Lilly will also unveil Phase 2 data for eloraTZP, its latest triple-acting medicine combining the selective amylin receptor agonist eloralintide and GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide, after Phase 1 results showed adding eloralintide 3 mg to tirzepatide 5 mg led to 17% weight loss over 16 weeks versus 10% with tirzepatide 5 mg alone. The company will additionally host an industry symposium on September 28 chaired by Prof. Rachel Batterham, marking 150 years of Lilly innovation.
Novartis' Pelacarsen Fails Late-Stage Trial, Rippling Through Lp(a) Drug Race
Novartis announced on Sept. 4, 2026, that its late-stage clinical study of pelacarsen failed to meet its primary endpoint of reducing the risk of cardiovascular events compared to placebo, a setback that rippled through the race to develop drugs lowering lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a). Pelacarsen, an antisense oligonucleotide discovered by Ionis Pharmaceuticals and licensed to Novartis in 2019, did lower Lp(a) levels but did not achieve a statistically significant reduction in cardiovascular events; analysts had expected peak annual sales of $4 billion to $5 billion had it succeeded. Amgen, which is also developing an Lp(a)-lowering drug, saw its share price sink 10% and has not recovered, while Eli Lilly's shares declined only about 3%, a muted reaction analysts attribute partly to Lilly's different approach with lepodisiran, which achieved a greater Lp(a) reduction in phase 2 testing and is being studied in a broader patient group. Lilly's dominance in diabetes and obesity also cushions it: the company generated $23 billion in the second quarter of 2026 alone, with roughly $14.9 billion of that from type 2 diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss therapy Zepbound. Novartis said full trial data will be presented at an upcoming medical congress, and while the pelacarsen flop may raise doubts about lepodisiran, Lilly's pipeline also includes base-editing therapy VERVE-102 from its 2025 acquisition of Verve Therapeutics, which delivered sustained PCSK9 and LDL cholesterol reductions over an 18-month follow-up in a Phase 1 trial.
OpenAI Rules Out 2026 IPO as Tanker Rates Hit Record Highs
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the company will not go public in 2026, calling the timing "ill-advised" given current safety and alignment challenges, and has reportedly pushed advisers to target a $1 trillion valuation for any eventual offering. President Donald Trump rejected calls from tech leaders to slow AI model development, arguing restrictive guardrails would risk ceding America's technological lead to China, after proposals from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei backed by Sam Altman and Elon Musk. Daily earnings for Very Large Crude Carriers on the benchmark Middle East-to-China route hit a record of nearly $800,000 following the biggest wave of attacks on Middle East shipping since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict, while the U.S. Gulf-to-Asia run fetched offers at a record lump-sum fee of $29.5 million, roughly $15 per barrel before war-risk premiums. Novo Nordisk announced it will shorten its corporate name to Novo and update its logo, with CEO Mike Doustdar pushing to make the company leaner as it works to regain obesity-treatment market share against Eli Lilly, and will detail its updated strategy at a Capital Markets Day on September 21 in London.
Amgen Falls 5% After Novartis Lp(a) Drug Misses Phase 3 Trial
Amgen Inc. shed roughly $12 billion in market value after hours on September 4, 2026, with the stock declining about 5% to $415, after Novartis announced that its Lp(a)-lowering therapy pelacarsen missed the Phase 3 cardiovascular-outcomes trial Lp(a)HORIZON. Novartis said pelacarsen substantially lowered Lp(a) but still failed to reduce the composite of cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, and urgent revascularization, directly challenging the hypothesis that lowering Lp(a), a genetic cardiovascular risk factor, cuts events. The read-through hit Amgen because its late-stage asset olpasiran, an siRNA that lowered Lp(a) by more than 95% at certain doses in Phase 2 versus roughly 80% for pelacarsen in earlier studies, rests on the same biological premise. The bull case that this deeper reduction could deliver better cardiovascular outcomes remains unproven, since the Lp(a)HORIZON topline provided no evidence of a clinical threshold above an 80% reduction, and Eli Lilly's lepodisiran is running the same deep-reduction experiment. Amgen is not an Lp(a) pure-play, with MariTide in obesity, Repatha in cholesterol, and Tezspire in asthma driving more value, while Insider Monkey data shows 66 hedge funds held AMGN in the second quarter of 2026, up slightly from 65 in the first, and short interest sits at just 2.4% of float.
Walgreens Closes 1,200 Stores as CVS Captures Suburban Pharmacy Market
Walgreens is closing roughly 1,200 of its approximately 8,500 U.S. locations through 2027, a retreat that is quietly handing suburban pharmacy customers to CVS. The closures accelerated after Walgreens completed a $10 billion sale to private equity firm Sycamore Partners in August 2025, taking the 124-year-old chain private for the first time; Mike Motz was named chief executive, replacing Tim Wentworth, who stays on as a director, and John Lederer became executive chairman. Company leadership has blamed shrinking pharmacy reimbursement rates, weaker retail traffic, and competition from Amazon Pharmacy for the decision, saying roughly a quarter of stores no longer fit the chain's strategy. CVS, which owns the pharmacy benefit manager Caremark, has not needed a marketing campaign to gain ground, and CVS and Walgreens together now handle nearly 40% of all U.S. retail prescription sales. CVS posted more than $106 billion in revenue and adjusted operating income of roughly $5.2 billion in its second-quarter 2026 results, up more than 35% from a year earlier, and raised its full-year 2026 adjusted earnings per share guidance to a range of $7.90 to $8.10. Walgreens has committed to continuing closures through 2027, with roughly 100 more expected before the end of 2026, while CVS is opening small-format stores, folding in leftover Rite Aid real estate, and leaning into GLP-1 access through new partnerships with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Novo Nordisk's Wegovy Shows Promise in Pediatric Obesity Trial
Novo Nordisk's late-stage STEP Young trial found that 40.4% of children treated with semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, were no longer classified as having obesity after 68 weeks, compared with none receiving placebo. The trial met its primary endpoint, with semaglutide demonstrating a superior reduction in body mass index at week 68 versus placebo, though all participants also received lifestyle modifications including a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. The result could expand the addressable market for Wegovy, as GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are not currently approved for children under 12 in the U.S., and a study published September 4 in the Pediatrics journal found that GLP-1 prescribing among children ages 8 to 11 with obesity and without diabetes increased roughly 310-fold from 2019 to 2026. The timing is significant as Novo seeks new growth drivers against Eli Lilly; in the REDEFINE 4 trial, Novo's next-generation candidate CagriSema produced 23.0% weight loss after 84 weeks versus 25.5% with Lilly's tirzepatide and failed the primary endpoint of non-inferiority. Hedge funds holding Novo Nordisk increased to 59 in Q2 from 55 in Q1, though positioning was mixed, and short interest rose around 15% to 33.83 million shares as of August 14.
Morgan Stanley Downgrades Novo Nordisk to Underweight on Semaglutide Patent Cliff
Morgan Stanley downgraded Novo Nordisk to Underweight from Equal-weight, sending the shares down 1.23% in premarket trading and 2% in Copenhagen, while keeping a 250 DKK target that implies more than 10% downside. Analysts led by Thibault Boutherin wrote that the valuation does not entirely reflect subdued mid-term growth or the implications of the semaglutide patent cliff on Novo's terminal value. Semaglutide, the ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy, accounted for 75% of sales in 2026 and is modeled at 59% in 2031, when loss of exclusivity starts to bite across Europe and the US. The bank sees the oral obesity franchise reaching $10 billion by 2031, which it says won't offset pricing and competitive headwinds, and forecasts 2% to 3% revenue and EBIT growth in 2027 and a 4% compound annual rate through 2030, against 4% revenue and 7% EBIT growth for European pharma generally. A Morgan Stanley survey of 200 primary care physicians pointed to share losses to Eli Lilly over the next 18 months, including retatrutide expected in 2027.
Lilly completes acquisition of AtaiBeckley to advance treatment-resistant depression therapies
Eli Lilly and Company has completed its acquisition of AtaiBeckley Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing rapid-acting neuroplastogens for mental health conditions. AtaiBeckley's lead investigational program, BPL-003, targets treatment-resistant depression. The transaction was approved by AtaiBeckley shareholders at a special meeting held prior to closing. Carole Ho, Lilly executive vice president and president of Lilly Neuroscience, said AtaiBeckley's neuroplastogens have the potential to open a new paradigm of treatment with rapid-acting therapeutics designed to move away from chronic dosing. Lilly said it is committed to advancing the pipeline for patients who need more options.
Eli Lilly Hits $1 Trillion Market Cap as 24/7 Wall St. Sets $1,220 Price Target
Eli Lilly has crossed into trillion-dollar territory, trading at $1,123.98 with a market capitalization of $1.002 trillion, and 24/7 Wall St. rates the stock a buy with a 12-month price target of $1,220.42, implying 8.58% upside at 90% confidence. The company's second-quarter 2026 revenue reached $22.974 billion, up 47.67% year over year, with earnings per share of $8.38 beating consensus by 27.27%, and management raised full-year revenue guidance to $85 billion to $87 billion. Mounjaro alone posted $9.94 billion, up 91% year over year, while the incretin franchise generated roughly $14.87 billion of the quarter's revenue. The bull case targets $1,381.62, a 22.92% gain, driven by retatrutide's planned BLA submission in the first quarter of 2027, the oral GLP-1 Foundayo's expansion to 36,000 prescribers, and the Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Program opening access for 20 million eligible Americans at $50 per month. The bear case takes shares to $1,045.34, a 7% decline, citing realized prices that fell 13% in the second quarter, $2.78 billion in acquired IPR&D charges, and net insider selling. Lilly's forward price-to-earnings ratio of 24 compares with 14 for Novo Nordisk, which grew quarterly revenue just 2.1%, and 16 for Merck, whose quarterly earnings shrank 19.3% year over year.
Novo Nordisk's Oral Wegovy Moves Closer to China Approval
Novo Nordisk has moved one step closer to bringing its oral Wegovy treatment to China after the country's drug regulator accepted the company's marketing application, opening a potential route into a market where GLP-1 weight-management sales could reach 30 billion yuan, or about $4.46 billion, within five to seven years, according to J.P. Morgan's head of China healthcare research, Yang Huang. The filing is an early regulatory milestone, not a final approval, and Novo has declined to provide a timeline for a decision. An oral version could help Novo reach patients who avoid injections, and the pill has already been approved in the United States and Britain, with a US launch earlier in 2026. However, Eli Lilly submitted its Chinese application for oral orforglipron at the end of 2025 and could launch as early as 2026, while Novo, Lilly, Pfizer, and Innovent Biologics already compete with injectable GLP-1 products in China. The 30-billion-yuan projection is an analyst forecast for the entire market, not an estimate of Wegovy's future sales, and the treatment's commercial contribution will depend on regulatory approval and competition in a crowded field.
Kura Oncology Launches Caspian Therapeutics with $50 Million Financing for Diabetes
Kura Oncology has launched Caspian Therapeutics, a separately financed company focused on developing menin inhibitors for diabetes and cardiometabolic diseases, backed by a $50 million financing led by BVF Partners with participation from the T1D Fund, Invus, Montanova, Eli Lilly and Company, Kura Oncology, and others. Caspian's lead compound, KO-7246, has shown in preclinical studies to selectively expand pancreatic beta cells, increase endogenous insulin production, and improve glycemic control in models of Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes, with data selected for an oral presentation at the EASD Annual Meeting on September 29, 2026. Kura will retain approximately half ownership of Caspian on a fully diluted basis and board representation, while Caspian operates with dedicated leadership and external capital. Robert Spencer has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Caspian, and the company plans to submit an investigational new drug application for KO-7246 as soon as practicable.
Structure Therapeutics shares fall on obesity drug trial data
Structure Therapeutics shares fell on Tuesday after trial data for its lead obesity candidates, ACCG-2671 and aleniglipron, failed to lift investor expectations amid competition from established drugs by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. In a Phase 1/2a single ascending dose trial, ACCG-2671, a dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist, caused about a 3% average weight reduction after a single dose in healthy volunteers without obesity, with a half-life of about six days supporting a potential once-weekly oral regimen. The company has started the multiple ascending dose portion of the trial, with topline data expected in the first half of 2027. For aleniglipron, data from the ACCESS open-label extension trial showed that patients on the 180 mg dose lost up to 16% of their weight after 72 weeks with no plateau, while enrollment continues in the ACCOMPLISH-1 and ACCOMPLISH-2 Phase 3 studies, with topline data expected in the second half of 2028. In comparison, FDA-approved oral weight loss therapies from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have achieved average weight loss of up to 14% and 11% over 64 and 72 weeks, respectively.
Lilly Builds Neuroscience into a New Long-Term Growth Driver
Eli Lilly is expanding its neuroscience portfolio through internal development and acquisitions, aiming to diversify beyond its dominant cardiometabolic franchise. Neuroscience currently accounts for only about 2% of Lilly's total sales, but first-half 2026 revenues in this segment grew 32% to $811 million, driven by products like Kisunla for Alzheimer's disease. The company has built a pipeline spanning Alzheimer's, sleep disorders, pain, and schizophrenia, with key candidates including remternetug, cleminorexton, and a GBA1 gene therapy. Recent acquisitions, such as AtaiBeckley and Centessa, have added promising assets like BPL-003 for treatment-resistant depression and cleminorexton for hypersomnia. While neuroscience is still a small part of Lilly's business, its rapid growth and pipeline potential could make it an increasingly important growth driver, reducing reliance on GLP-1 therapies. Lilly's stock trades at 26.85 times forward earnings, below its five-year average of 34.57, and the Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2026 has risen to $35.93 per share.
Moonwalk Biosciences Raises $70 Million Series B for Obesity RNAi Therapies
Moonwalk Biosciences, a biotechnology company developing adipose-targeted RNA interference medicines for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases, announced the closing of an oversubscribed $70 million Series B financing. The round was co-led by Alpha Wave and YK Bioventures, with participation from Eli Lilly and Company, Gaorong Ventures, and existing investors ARCH Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, and Future Ventures. Proceeds will support advancement of Moonwalk's lead obesity candidate, MW101, into first-in-human clinical studies in late 2027, expand its pipeline of tissue-targeted siRNA medicines, and further advance its proprietary discovery platform. The company also appointed Dr. Stephen Djedjos as Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, bringing over 20 years of experience from roles at Kailera Therapeutics, Mineralys Therapeutics, Sana Biotechnology, Gilead Sciences, and Amgen. Moonwalk's platform, which exclusively licensed adipose-targeting chemistry from Suzhou Siran Biotechnology, aims to selectively deliver siRNA to adipose tissue to modulate novel pathways underlying obesity, with preclinical data showing robust weight and fat mass reductions while preserving lean muscle.
4BIO Capital Leads $33 Million Seed Round for Cloverleaf Bio
4BIO Capital has led an upsized and oversubscribed $33 million seed financing for Cloverleaf Bio, an RNA therapeutics company developing engineered tRNA-based cancer treatments. The round includes strategic investments from AbbVie Ventures, Eli Lilly and Company, and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, alongside Draper Associates, Mission BioCapital, and American Cancer Society BrightEdge. The funds will support proof-of-concept studies in hepatocellular carcinoma and advancement of a colorectal cancer program. Cloverleaf's lead compound, CLB-001, has shown greater potency and selectivity for cancer cells over healthy tissue in preclinical studies, and retains activity in resistant cancer cell lines. The company, a Yale University spinout headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, plans to advance its lead assets toward clinical testing.
Diabetic Nephropathy Market to Reach $8.8B by 2025, Grow 5% CAGR to 2036
The diabetic nephropathy and diabetes kidney disease market across the seven major markets is valued at approximately USD 8.80 billion in 2025 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 5% from 2026 to 2036, according to a new report from ResearchAndMarkets.com. The total prevalent DKD population in the 7MM is estimated at nearly 34 million cases in 2025, with the United States accounting for nearly 15 million cases and representing the largest regional market. Approximately 70% of US DKD cases occur among individuals aged 60 years and older. Antidiabetic therapies generate the highest DKD-related revenue across the 7MM. Key marketed therapies include JARDIANCE from Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly, KERENDIA from Bayer, and FARXIGA/FORXIGA from AstraZeneca. In March 2026, a Phase III study of KERENDIA met its primary endpoint in chronic kidney disease patients, showing a statistically significant improvement in estimated glomerular filtration rate slope versus placebo. Emerging pipeline candidates include esaxerenone from Daiichi Sankyo, SER150 from Serodus, bremelanotide from Palatin Technologies, and INV-202 from Novo Nordisk and Inversago Pharma. The report highlights persistent unmet needs such as limited disease-modifying therapies, cardiovascular risk, and delayed diagnosis, creating opportunities for differentiated treatments.
Shares of Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis fell as much as 3.3% on Monday (Sept. 7) after its key drug designed to lower Lp(a) levels in the blood failed a final-stage trial. The failure casts doubt on this treatment approach and has led investors to turn their attention to and raise expectations for upcoming data from an RNA therapy trial. Late Friday (Sept. 4), Novartis announced that pelacarsen did not significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in a large final-stage trial involving patients with high Lp(a) levels, a genetic risk factor for which there is no targeted treatment. Previously, analysts had forecast that if the drug succeeded, it could achieve peak annual sales of $3 billion to $6 billion. The failure also poses a greater challenge to rival drugmakers Amgen and Eli Lilly, which are also in final-stage trials of Lp(a)-lowering drugs. The situation also adds pressure to other drugs in the pipeline, particularly del-desiran, an experimental treatment for myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1), with trial results expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Analysts note that the muscular dystrophy drug needs to succeed in trials to justify the investment of up to $12 billion that Novartis spent to acquire the rights to this drug. However, Novartis is also scheduled to report results from a trial of remibrutinib, an anti-inflammatory drug for chronic hidradenitis suppurativa, later this year. This drug recently succeeded in a trial for multiple sclerosis patients, which may help support and cushion investor disappointment. Before the share price decline on Monday, Novartis shares had risen about a fifth since the start of the year, driven by market confidence in its new drug pipeline, despite the company facing pressure from patent expirations on older drugs.
J.P. Morgan Raises Eli Lilly Estimates on Obesity Drug Growth
J.P. Morgan has raised its 2027 revenue estimate for Eli Lilly & Co by 0.7% to $105.67 billion and its adjusted earnings-per-share forecast by 1.1% to $50.99, maintaining an Overweight rating and a December 2026 price target of $1,400. The bank expects total revenue to climb from about $88 billion in 2026 to more than $105 billion in 2027 and $135 billion by 2030, driven largely by Lilly's incretin portfolio, including Zepbound, Mounjaro, and the oral GLP-1 drug Foundayo. J.P. Morgan forecasts combined incretin sales of over $62 billion in 2026, $78 billion in 2027, and more than $100 billion in 2030, implying roughly 20% annualized growth. The bank also sees potential from pipeline candidates retatrutide and eloralintide, while noting risks such as pricing pressure and slower-than-expected rollout of Foundayo.
Lilly Launches Foundayo in UK, First European Market
Eli Lilly and Company has launched Foundayo in the United Kingdom, making Britain the first European country where its oral treatment for weight management and type 2 diabetes is available. The pill, known chemically as orforglipron, became available through private prescription after the UK medicines regulator authorised it on August 10. Lilly expects Foundayo to cost between £100 and £120 per month through private providers, compared with approximately £330 for a month's supply of its Mounjaro injection. However, access through England's state-run National Health Service will depend on a separate review by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, which has requested additional information and has not scheduled a second meeting. Foundayo remains under review in the European Union, and it is the second GLP-1 tablet launched in the UK, following Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill.
FDA Clears Roche and Lilly's Alzheimer's Blood Test
The FDA has cleared Elecsys pTau217, a blood test developed by Roche Holding AG and Eli Lilly and Company, to help identify whether people aged 55 and older with cognitive decline are likely or unlikely to have brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease. The test will be available through Roche's installed base of more than 4,500 laboratory analyzers in the United States, and Labcorp and Quest Diagnostics also plan to offer it through their networks. This clearance follows European approval in May, marking regulatory progress in two major markets. However, the test is not intended as a standalone diagnostic and must be interpreted with other clinical information, and its price has not been disclosed. The test's potential lies in making Alzheimer's assessment more accessible compared to traditional methods like PET scans or cerebrospinal fluid testing, which are expensive and invasive.
Eli Lilly to Buy Merida Biosciences for Up to $2.88 Billion
Eli Lilly has agreed to acquire Merida Biosciences for up to $2.88 billion in cash, expanding into autoimmune diseases as it diversifies beyond its blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs. The deal, announced on August 31, is Lilly's 13th acquisition of 2026, the most among large drugmakers, and follows two other immunology purchases: a $1.2 billion buyout of Ventyx Biosciences and a deal for Orna Therapeutics worth up to $2.4 billion. Merida, a privately held company with $121 million in funding, is developing drugs that selectively remove disease-causing autoantibodies while preserving healthy immune function. Its lead candidate, MER511, is in Phase 1 testing for Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease, and a second drug, MER769, targets food allergies and asthma. The agreement includes an upfront payment plus milestone payments, so Lilly's total cost could stay below the headline figure if the drugs fail. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, but any revenue is years away, and Lilly's current valuation at a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.32 leaves little room for error.
Eli Lilly Shares Dip 2.7% Post-Earnings, Analysts See Rebound Potential
Eli Lilly's shares have fallen 2.7% since its second-quarter earnings report, underperforming the S&P 500, but the company's strong results and raised guidance suggest a possible rebound. In the quarter, Lilly reported adjusted EPS of $8.38, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $6.01, and revenues of $22.97 billion, up 48% year over year, surpassing the consensus of $20.26 billion. Sales of Mounjaro and Zepbound, key growth drivers, reached $9.94 billion and $4.93 billion, respectively, both beating estimates. The company raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $85-$87 billion from $82-$85 billion, though it narrowed adjusted EPS guidance to $35.50-$36.50 per share due to acquired IPR&D charges. Analysts have revised estimates upward since the report, and Lilly holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) with a VGM Score of B.
Lilly's African Mounjaro Push Starts at 1.25% of Quarterly Sales
Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro has secured a concrete African growth target, with distributor Aspen Pharmacare expecting regional sales to break 2 billion rand, or roughly $124 million, in the year ending June 2027. That target represents only about 1.25% of Lilly's global quarterly Mounjaro sales of $9.94 billion, underscoring that Africa will not yet move Lilly's numbers. However, South Africa's GLP-1 market nearly doubled to 2.8 billion rand over the past year, and Mounjaro's share there rocketed from 15% to 53%. Pending registrations in Kenya and Nigeria could widen Lilly's runway, and early distribution and physician adoption may lock in a lead before the regional market matures. Lilly shares traded at $1,154.24, sitting 24.44% below its GF Value estimate of roughly $1,530.
Superluminal Medicines Raises $60 Million Series B for Obesity Program
Superluminal Medicines, a Boston-based biotechnology company, announced the closing of an oversubscribed $60 million Series B financing to advance its lead program for rare genetic forms of obesity into the clinic. The round was led by BVF Partners, L.P., with participation from new investors Deep Track Capital and Perceptive Advisors, alongside existing investors including RA Capital Management, Insight Partners, NVIDIA, Catalio Capital Management, Eli Lilly and Company, Cooley, and Gaingels. Proceeds will support the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for its selective, biased MC4R agonist, expected to begin by the end of 2026, as well as the expansion of its GPCR-focused discovery platform. The company's platform integrates AI/ML, structural biology, and protein dynamics to target challenging GPCRs, and it also continues a strategic collaboration with Eli Lilly for undisclosed GPCR targets in cardiometabolic diseases and obesity.
Novo Nordisk Launches Wegovy Pill in Germany, First in EU
Novo Nordisk A/S has launched its Wegovy weight-loss pill in Germany, making it the first country in the European Union where the oral version of the drug is available. Germany is the EU's largest pharmaceutical market, so the launch is an important step for Novo as it works to strengthen its position in the growing obesity-drug market. The pill contains semaglutide, the same active ingredient used in Novo's Wegovy injection and Ozempic. Prices will vary depending on the dosage and are expected to be similar to the injectable version of Wegovy, which currently sells at pharmacy retail prices of around €170 to €280 in Germany. The launch comes as Novo faces growing competition from Eli Lilly. Novo Nordisk A/S said in August that its Wegovy pill had captured around 90% of the oral obesity market, despite competition from Lilly. Lilly's Foundayo has already launched in the UK and is expected to enter other major markets in 2027.
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