Lilly CEO Pledges Rapid End To Weight-Loss Medication Shortage

According to Bloomberg News, Eli Lilly's CEO David Ricks announced in an interview that the company's popular weight-loss drug, tirzepatide, is expected to be back in full supply in the United States within the next few days. Marketed as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight management, the drug will soon overcome its current shortage, Ricks stated during the interview in Paris.

The FDA's website currently shows that certain doses of Mounjaro and Zepbound are in limited supply, with Mounjaro being listed as a shortage since late 2022. The FDA declined to comment further beyond its existing drug shortages list, and Lilly has not yet responded to requests for comment. Typically, the FDA removes a drug from its shortage list once all backorders are fulfilled and the supply meets or exceeds demand.

In April, Lilly announced that the supply of Zepbound would remain "quite tight" in the near and midterm as the company increases production capacity. Eli Lilly and its Danish competitor, Novo Nordisk, are both striving to ramp up production in a weight-loss drug market projected to reach approximately $150 billion by the early 2030s. Both companies' obesity treatments are GLP-1 agonists, a class of drugs initially developed for diabetes.

GLP-1 drugs have demonstrated the ability to help patients lose up to 20% of their weight on average, driving exceptional demand. Novo Nordisk manufactures the diabetes drug Ozempic and its weight-loss counterpart Wegovy. Additionally, Lilly reported earlier on Thursday that Zepbound has shown effectiveness in reducing the risk of hospitalization, death, and other adverse outcomes in obese adults with a common type of heart failure.