Eli Lilly announced on Apr. 10 the launch of its obesity pill Foundayo, just eight days after receiving approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration. The company had prepared for this rollout by stocking $1.5 billion worth of the drug in advance, aiming to compete directly with Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy, which entered the market earlier in January.
The competition between Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in the obesity treatment sector has drawn significant attention due to both companies' recent successes and rapid product launches. Both firms are targeting a growing demand for oral treatments as alternatives to injectables.
Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy saw a strong debut, reaching over 3,000 patients in its first week and increasing prescriptions by 500% in the following week. This surpassed even Eli Lilly’s injectable Zepbound launch figures from December 2023. Despite entering some markets later than Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly has overtaken its rival in total GLP-1 sales last year and reached a $1 trillion valuation.
A key difference between these two companies’ oral offerings is efficacy: clinical trial data suggest that while injectable Zepbound outperformed injectable Wegovy by helping patients lose more weight, Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy showed greater weight loss (16.6% at 72 weeks) compared to Foundayo (11.2%). However, no direct head-to-head studies have been conducted between these pills.
Both drugs are similarly priced—starting at $149 through self-pay options or as low as $25 with insurance—and offer distinct features such as dosing flexibility; Foundayo can be taken with or without food while Wegovy must be taken on an empty stomach. Market analysts continue to monitor prescription trends closely as both companies seek new patient populations who may prefer pills over injections.
