Eli Lilly and Company

Manufacturer and marketer of Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib)

The FDA on October 2 approved Eli Lilly's Jaypirca for newly diagnosed chronic lymphocytic leukemia, making it the first non-covalent BTK inhibitor available as initial therapy. The approval covers adults with previously untreated CLL or small lymphocytic lymphoma who lack a 17p deletion, a subgroup that makes up roughly 92% to 95% of new cases.

Updated 7 days ago

Sponsor of TRIUMPH-1 and developer of retatrutide

Eli Lilly's obesity drug retatrutide met its goals in two late-stage trials published the same day. The 12 mg dose produced 30.3% average weight loss over 104 weeks in adults with obesity, a level once seen mainly after bariatric surgery. In 1,152 adults with type 2 diabetes, the same dose cut weight 18.8% at 80 weeks, and 79% reached an HbA1c of 6.5% or lower.

Updated Oct 4

Developing AK-OTOF gene therapy through acquired subsidiary

A single injection into the inner ear can now restore hearing in children born deaf. In April 2026 the FDA approved Otarmeni, the first gene therapy for inherited hearing loss, after about 80% of 24 trial participants gained measurable hearing and 42% could pick up whispers.

Updated Oct 3

Developer of Foundayo (orforglipron); FDA approved the drug for obesity in April 2026; type 2 diabetes submission planned for end of Q2 2026

Millions with type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar with daily injections. Lilly's Foundayo is a pill that could replace them, and in its largest trial it matched insulin on heart safety while cutting weight and blood sugar more.

Updated Oct 1

Advancing EloraTZP to Phase 3 trials

Adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes who took Eli Lilly's experimental EloraTZP lost an average of 23.3% of their body weight over 48 weeks — well beyond the 14.8% lost by those on tirzepatide alone, the drug sold as Zepbound. The combination pairs tirzepatide, a dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist, with eloralintide, a selective amylin receptor agonist, engaging three appetite-regulating hormone pathways at once.

Updated Oct 1

Marks orforglipron, the first approved oral small-molecule GLP-1

Injectable GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy dominate diabetes care, but they require needles, and the only oral option, Rybelsus, demands an empty stomach at dosing. This week, China's Hengrui published phase 3 data for its answer: safiglipron, a once-daily small-molecule pill taken with food.

Updated Sep 30

Competitor; markets tirzepatide as Mounjaro and Zepbound

Roche's experimental once-weekly diabetes injectable cut blood sugar and body weight in a 48-week phase 2 trial announced September 22. Patients on the highest 24 mg dose saw HbA1c drop 2.65 percentage points and weight fall 15.5%.

Updated Sep 22

Acquiring Centessa's orexin pipeline for up to $7.8B

Alkermes presented its orexin agonist as an ADHD treatment on September 21, the first time the new drug class has moved into a mainstream psychiatric market. The company calls the program a potential 'company changer.'

Updated Sep 21

Acquirer; integrating Merida into its immunology pipeline

Eli Lilly agreed to buy Merida Biosciences for up to $2.875 billion. The deal adds a platform that destroys the specific antibodies driving autoimmune disease instead of broadly suppressing the immune system. Merida's lead drug, MER511, is in early human testing for Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease.

Updated Sep 1

Maker of tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound); FDA approved Mounjaro for cardiovascular risk reduction in August 2026

The FDA approved tirzepatide (Mounjaro) on August 28 to lower the risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular death in adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk. The decision rests on SURPASS-CVOT, a 13,000-patient trial that found tirzepatide matched an older GLP-1 medicine, dulaglutide (Trulicity), on major heart events, with an estimated 8% lower rate.

Updated Aug 29

Partner in diagnostic development and maker of Kisunla

Alzheimer's diagnosis used to require a $5,000 brain scan or a painful spinal tap. As of August 2026, the FDA has cleared four blood tests for the disease, from Roche's Elecsys pTau217 to C2N's PrecivityAD2, approved for adults as young as 40.

Updated Aug 25

Acquirer

Eli Lilly agreed to buy AtaiBeckley for $6.75 a share in cash, about $2.8 billion, with up to $1 billion more if two drugs hit development targets. The purchase pulls one of the world's largest drugmakers into psychedelic medicine.

Updated Jul 16

Surpassing Novo Nordisk in GLP-1 market share with expanding product line

Kailera Therapeutics just pulled off the largest biotech initial public offering in history, raising $625 million and watching its shares surge 62.5% on the first day of trading. The company, founded less than two years ago with drugs licensed from a Chinese pharmaceutical firm, is now valued at roughly $3.5 billion — without a single approved product. That a startup built entirely around next-generation obesity drugs can command this kind of investor enthusiasm tells you where the pharmaceutical industry's center of gravity has shifted.

Updated May 31

Constructing $9B+ manufacturing campus at LEAP

Indiana committed over $23 billion in private investment to a 9,500-acre industrial district in Boone County farmland before solving a basic problem: where the water would come from. The state is advancing a $560 million plan to pipe up to 25 million gallons per day from Indianapolis. The water would supply Eli Lilly's $9 billion pharmaceutical campus and Meta's $10 billion data center complex, despite objections from Indianapolis lawmakers, environmental groups, and hundreds of property owners along the pipeline route.

Updated May 31

Launched Foundayo, expanding oral GLP-1 market

For two years, the most effective weight-loss drugs on the market required a weekly injection, but that barrier is now falling. Eli Lilly began shipping Foundayo on April 6, 2026 — just five days after FDA approval in a record 50-day review — making it the first oral GLP-1 pill with no food or water restrictions. At $149/month (or $25 with insurance), it's 85% cheaper than injectables.

Updated May 30

Developing competing once-weekly insulin efsitora alfa

For 104 years, every insulin on the market has required at least one injection per day. On March 26, the FDA approved Awiqli, a once-weekly basal insulin from Novo Nordisk for adults with type 2 diabetes. That cuts basal insulin injections from 365 to 52 per year.

Updated May 30

Manufacturer of Mounjaro and Zepbound; Novo Nordisk's primary GLP-1 competitor

More than 30 million Americans now take GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy to lose weight. A persistent concern has dogged the medications since their rise: that they burn through muscle along with fat, leaving patients weaker even as they get thinner.

Updated May 30

Second-largest GLP-1 franchise; advancing oral formulation

The biggest knock against blockbuster weight-loss drugs like semaglutide is that up to 40% of weight lost is lean tissue (muscle and bone), not fat. New therapies entering trials target genes to spare muscle.

Updated May 30

Launches first non-fasting oral GLP-1 for obesity, intensifying competition in weight loss market

For the first time, patients with acquired hypothalamic obesity have an FDA-approved treatment. On March 19, 2026, the FDA approved Imcivree (setmelanotide), which targets this rare condition affecting roughly 10,000 Americans whose hypothalamic damage from brain tumor surgery makes diet and exercise ineffective.

Updated May 30

Actively pursuing GLP-1 addiction trials

Drugs designed to control blood sugar and shrink waistlines may also quiet the cravings that drive addiction. A March 4 BMJ study of more than 600,000 U.S. veterans found GLP-1 users were 14 percent less likely to develop a new substance use disorder.

Updated May 30

Maker of tirzepatide; chief GLP-1 competitor

Patients on Ozempic and Wegovy typically lose about 15% of their body weight, then stall around 14 months in. On May 25, NIH researchers in Nature Metabolism reported what may be happening inside the brain to cause that stall, and a way to keep the drug working longer.

Updated May 25

Maker of tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), included in the GLP-1 cohort

A study of more than 12,000 patients found that those taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs were 38% to 50% less likely to progress to stage IV cancer in four obesity-linked cancers. Cleveland Clinic led the study. Researchers compared GLP-1 users — on drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro — against patients taking older diabetes pills.

Updated May 24

Reduced insulin prices by 70% in 2023

On January 1, 2026, nonprofit Civica Rx launched insulin glargine pens at $55 a box; California debuted its CalRx-branded insulin the same day at the same price. Both undercut branded products by up to 90%: no insurance forms, no rebates, no hidden markups, just one transparent price for anyone, in a market three pharmaceutical giants control with a 90% share.

Updated May 19

Negotiating partner in BALANCE model

Medicare has been banned from covering weight loss drugs since 2003. CMS launched BALANCE in December 2025, a voluntary model offering $50-per-month Ozempic and Wegovy access for 10% of Medicare enrollees starting July 2026.

Updated May 16