By Sriparna Roy
April 17 (Reuters) – Eli Lilly’s newly launched weight-loss pill was prescribed 1,390 times in the U.S. in its first week of sales, according to analysts who cited IQVIA data, indicating that its push into oral obesity treatments is gaining early traction.
Investors are closely watching the rollout as competition intensifies between Lilly and its Danish rival Novo Nordisk for a larger share of the obesity market, which has been dominated by blockbuster injections.
At least two analysts said the IQVIA data for the week ended April 10 is likely based on two days of capture, assuming Foundayo was widely shipped a day earlier.
Novo’s Wegovy pill had hit 3,071 U.S. prescriptions in the first four days after its launch on January 5.
Foundayo was approved in the U.S. on April 1, with prescriptions accepted immediately on LillyDirect, while shipping started on April 6. Broad availability through U.S. retail pharmacies and telehealth providers started on April 9.
This implies a more robust launch for Foundayo, with prescription data likely building momentum across the subsequent three days of its first week, said RBC Capital Markets analyst Trung Huynh.
“Having said this, we think this comparison so early into launch should be considered immaterial. We believe weeks 8-12 represent the earliest window to assess Foundayo’s true commercial momentum.”
Lilly, too, had cautioned that the IQVIA data are not fully comprehensive and may not capture the full breadth of pharmacy partners.
“As with most new product launches, early weekly figures can be volatile and are best interpreted over time rather than as a complete count,” Lilly had told Reuters in an emailed response on Wednesday.
Shares of Eli Lilly rose 1.6% in premarket trading on Friday.
STRONG UPTAKE OF ORAL WEGOVY
Wall Street analysts had expected oral Wegovy’s launch to be stronger than that of Novo’s injectable Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound, with the caveat that the market for the injections has matured significantly since those drugs first rolled out.
The pill was prescribed 113,354 times in the same week, compared with 105,366 prescriptions in the prior week, according to IQVIA data. The analytics firm declined to comment.
“The oral Wegovy launch is off to a solid start,” J.P. Morgan analyst Chris Schott said, adding that it appears the market is expanding instead of impacting Lilly’s Zepbound injections, which currently lead sales for weight-loss drugs.
The findings also offer insight into the performance of oral drugs as drugmakers shift towards cash-pay consumer models.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru and Leah Douglas in Washington; Editing by Leroy Leo)
