Eli Lilly stock gains on FDA nod for oral obesity drug Foundayo, expanding its portfolio and patient access, setting up a fresh showdown with Novo Nordisk in th
The drug will be marketed under the brand name Foundayo and initially offered through LLY’s online pharmacy, LillyDirect, where prescriptions are already being accepted, and shipments will begin on April 6. It will soon become widely available across U.S. retail pharmacies and telehealth platforms. A key differentiating factor is that the pill can be taken at any time of the day without food or water restrictions. When combined with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, Foundayo is designed to help individuals lose excess weight and maintain long-term weight management.
Foundayo’s approval is supported by encouraging results from Lilly’s phase III ATTAIN clinical program. In the ATTAIN-1 study, adult patients treated with the highest dose of Foundayo lost an average of 27.3 pounds (12.4%) compared to 2.2 pounds (0.9%) with placebo. In the ATTAIN program, Foundayo also demonstrated reductions in several cardiovascular risk markers, including waist circumference, non-HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and systolic blood pressure across all dosage strengths.
Lilly aims to make Foundayo both accessible and affordable. Eligible patients with commercial insurance may pay as little as $25 per month using the Foundayo savings card. For those choosing self-pay, pricing starts at $149 per month for the lowest dose. Additionally, eligible Medicare Part D beneficiaries may be able to access Foundayo for $50 per month, with availability expected as early as July 1, 2026.
Lilly is further seeking approval of orforglipron for weight management and/or type II diabetes (T2D) in more than 40 countries and intends to roll out launches in each market soon after receiving regulatory approval.
Lilly has already seen tremendous success with its tirzepatide (GLP-1) injections, marketed as Mounjaro for T2D and Zepbound for obesity. Despite being on the market for just over three years, Mounjaro and Zepbound have seen exceptional sales growth, becoming LLY’s key top-line drivers. In 2025, the drugs generated combined sales of $36.5 billion, comprising around 56% of the company’s total revenues.
The U.S. approval of this oral GLP-1 therapy for obesity further expands LLY’s portfolio and is expected to enhance patient access while supporting continued market share growth. As an oral formulation, it offers significantly greater convenience than injectable alternatives, thereby improving patient reach, uptake and long-term treatment adherence.
This marks a significant milestone for Eli Lilly, bringing it closer to its chief rival, Novo Nordisk NVO, in the highly competitive diabetes and obesity market. Novo Nordisk markets its semaglutide (GLP-1) injections as Ozempic for T2D and Wegovy for obesity, competing directly with LLY’s Mounjaro and Zepbound. In late 2025, NVO announced the approval of the Wegovy pill, which became the first-ever oral GLP-1 pill to be approved for weight management and was launched in early January, gaining a significant head start.
However, investors should note that Eli Lilly launched Zepbound for obesity in December 2023, several years after Novo Nordisk introduced the Wegovy injection. Despite the later entry, Zepbound rapidly gained share, ultimately surpassing Wegovy’s sales in 2025. If this trajectory is any indication, Lilly could once again outpace Novo Nordisk, supported by potentially superior clinical efficacy of Foundayo versus the oral Wegovy, along with strong commercial execution and competitive pricing strategies aimed at expanding patient access.
The obesity space has garnered much of the spotlight over the past year due to the sizeable and still underpenetrated market opportunity. Smaller biotechs like Structure Therapeutics GPCR and Viking Therapeutics VKTX are also developing GLP-1-based therapies to challenge the incumbents.
Viking Therapeutics’ dual GIPR/GLP-1 receptor agonist, VK2735, is being developed both as oral and subcutaneous formulations for the treatment of obesity. Viking Therapeutics plans to advance oral VK2735 into phase III development for obesity in the third quarter of 2026.
Structure Therapeutics’ phase II ACCESS study on its orally GLP-1 RA, aleniglipron, for obesity, met its primary and all key secondary endpoints. Structure Therapeutics expects to initiate the late-stage program of aleniglipron in obesity in the second half of 2026.
Shares of Eli Lilly have gained 13.6% in the past six months compared with the industry’s 7.3% growth. The company has also outperformed the sector and the S&P 500 during the same time frame, as seen in the chart below.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, LLY stock is expensive. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 26.43 forward earnings, higher than 17.24 for the industry. However, the stock is trading below its five-year mean of 34.56.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Estimates for Eli Lilly’s 2026 earnings have improved from $33.24 to $34.16 per share in the past 60 days, and estimates for 2027 earnings have improved from $41.48 to $41.90 per share over the same time frame.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
Eli Lilly currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
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