Eli Lilly Just Scored Europe's First Weight Loss Pill Approval -- and the Growth Story Keeps Getting Bigger
Key Points
Its drug, Foundayo, will compete in Britain against Novo Nordisk's Wegovy.
The global market for GLP-1 drugs is forecast to expand rapidly.
This year may be an inflection point for the weight-loss drug market.
This week, the U.K.'s healthcare regulatory body approved Eli Lilly's (NYSE: LLY) weight loss drug orforglipron, sold as Foundayo, for weight management and type 2 diabetes. Unlike Lilly's other weight loss drug, Zepbound, Foundayo is a pill, not an injectable medication -- and that's a fresh piece of good news for investors.
"Following rigorous assessment of orforglipron's safety, quality, and effectiveness, we are pleased to be the first regulator in Europe to authorise this tablet for weight management and type 2 diabetes," said Julian Breach, an executive director at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
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The U.K. approval takes the GLP-1 drug battle global, and now Eli Lilly will compete with rival Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). Novo Nordisk has been selling its own weight loss pill, Wegovy, in the U.K. for two months. Foundayo may have a small advantage over Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill because it has no food restrictions. Wegovy users must abstain from eating for 30 minutes after taking the medication.
The market for weight management drugs continues to balloon
Foundayo has been available in the U.S. since April. Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have scrambled to offer their GLP-1 drugs in pill form because there is thought to be some resistance to injectable drugs among consumers, and it's possible a pill form of the weight-loss and diabetes drugs could ramp up sales even faster.
That would be no small feat, as demand for GLP-1 drugs is already enormous and growing rapidly. The global market for obesity medicines reached $66 billion in 2025 and is projected to rise to $92 billion this year, according to healthcare research firm IQVIA.
The market is forecast to reach between $105 billion and $200 billion by 2027 and continue growing from there. IQVIA research says this year will be an inflection point for obesity treatments, with oral therapies like Wegovy and Foundayo coming online and national health services like Medicare providing access to GLP-1 therapies.
In addition, last year, drug giant Pfizer acquired Metsera, a clinical-stage developer of obesity drugs. And China is emerging as a potential GLP-1 giant, both as a volume opportunity for current GLP-1 drug makers and a source of innovation in the market.
Finally, while the patent for semaglutide, the drug in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic, is protected in the U.S. through adjustments until 2031, international patents for it expire this year in major markets including India, China, and Brazil, allowing local generic production.
Given the enormous market for weight-loss drugs, the race to win the GLP-1 market is far from over. There will be plenty of opportunities for all drug manufacturers to increase global sales in the coming years.
Matthew Benjamin has positions in Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.