Eli Lilly’s popular weight loss drug Zepbound has joined its competitor, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, in officially being hit by a shortage.
The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that two doses of the drug, along with some doses of the company’s diabetes medication Mounjaro, are in limited supply. The drugs will be in short supply through at least the end of April due to increased demand, the FDA said.
Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The federal agency first declared a shortage of Wegovy in March of 2022. The duration of Wegovy’s shortage is still listed as to be determined.
Eli Lilly stock was up about 1.7% in Wednesday afternoon trading.
The weight loss drug shortage
Sales of a new class of weight loss drugs known as GLP-1s have transformed Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk into the most valuable pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Eli Lilly, the maker of Zepbound, is now the world’s ninth largest company by market capitalization, at $739 billion. But the high demand has also made it hard for some patients to have their prescriptions filled.
“Due to the unprecedented demand for these medicines, some patients may experience difficulty when trying to fill their prescription at their pharmacy,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson told Bloomberg in March.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, has already been limiting starter doses of Wegovy to ensure there’s enough supply for patients already on the drug. But the problem is compounding: Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen said in March that the gap between demand for weight loss drugs and the supply is significant enough to take years to close.
Novo Nordisk announced in February that it has acquired three facilities from the company’s largest shareholder, Novo Holdings, for $11 billion in an effort to address a shortage of Wegovy. The deal was made in connection with Novo Holdings’ acquisition of the drug manufacturing company Catalent. Novo Nordisk said in a statement that the acquisition will increase the company’s production capacity from 2026 and onwards.
Some customers want Eli Lilly to sell Zepbound in vials, instead of pre-filled pens
Frustrated Zepbound users are calling for the pharma giant to sell the medication in vials to address an ongoing shortage.
The production of Zepbound’s pre-filled injection pens seem to be a key reason for the shortage, Bloomberg reports. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks previously told the outlet the pens require “some of the most complex” production systems in the world.
Now some Zepbound users are taking to social media, including TikTok, urging the drug maker to make the medication available in single-dose vials, which the FDA approved last month.