Eli Lilly Stock Surges as Weight-Loss Pill Approval Request Looms

Pharma giant Eli Lilly just gave its stock a massive caffeine jolt—shares are climbing as the company prepares to seek regulatory greenlight for its oral weight-loss treatment.

THE PILL PLAY

No injections, no devices—just a tablet that could reshape the obesity drug market. Lilly’s moving aggressively to capture demand from patients who prefer popping pills over weekly shots.

WALL STREET'S NEW FIX

Analysts are already buzzing about blockbuster potential. Because nothing gets investors hotter than a patented pill that prints cash—until the generics arrive, anyway.

APPETITE FOR DISRUPTION

This isn’t just another drug—it’s a direct challenge to injectable competitors and a bet that convenience will drive adoption. The market’s hungry, and Lilly’s ready to serve.

Because in big pharma, the real weight being lost is in investors' wallets—right before the next earnings call.

Key Takeaways

• Eli Lilly reported a late-stage study of its oral weight-loss pill met primary and key secondary endpoints.
• The GLP-1 medication for obese or overweight patients with Type 2 diabetes lost an average of as much as 22.9 pounds over 72 weeks.
• Eli Lilly said it now has enough information to apply for approval of the drug from regulators.

Eli Lilly (LLY) shares gained more than 4% soon after the opening bell Tuesday as results from a new study moved the drugmaker closer to applying for approval of its experimental weight-loss pill.

Lilly reported a Phase 3 trial of its oral GLP-1 treatment, orforglipron, met primary and key secondary goals in reducing weight for adults who were obese or overweight and had Type 2 diabetes. 

The company noted those taking the highest dose (36 milligrams) for 72 weeks and without food and water restrictions dropped their weight by an average of 10.5%, or 22.9 pounds, compared to 2.2%, or 5.1 pounds, for those on a placebo. Along with losing weight, the orforglipron patients had an average decline in their A1C glucose level of 1.8%. 

The pill uses the same GLP-1 hormone therapy as injectable weight-loss medicines, including Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's (NVO) Wegovy. However, the size of orforglipron's weight reduction was lower than the other two. 

Lilly said it now has "the full clinical data package required to initiate global regulatory submissions for orforglipron." However, a stumbling block may be the high number of adverse effects reported, including nausea (36.4% at the highest dosage), vomiting (23.1%), diarrhea (27.4%), constipation (22.4%), and dyspepsia (10.9%). In addition, a similar number of those taking the pill and the placebo dropped out of the study. 

Despite today's advance, shares of Eli Lilly are down about 6% in 2025.

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