Novo Nordisk is increasingly positioning its GLP-1 medications as lifestyle drugs for 'customers' rather than obesity medicines for 'patients,' marking a significant shift in how the company markets these treatments. The change comes as the company continues developing next-generation weight loss drugs and expands its product pipeline.
Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar told Reuters that oral weight-loss medications could represent up to half of the global obesity drug market by 2030, as the Danish drugmaker positions itself for a shift toward pill-based treatments alongside its injectable GLP-1 drugs.
Novo Nordisk announced topline results showing CagriSema achieved 12.4% weight loss versus 9.1% for tirzepatide at 60 weeks in adults with type 2 diabetes in the REIMAGINE 5 trial, and induced 21% weight loss at 68 weeks in people with overweight or obesity without diabetes in the REDEFINE trial.
A 46-year-old father standing 6ft 8in tall lost 32 stone after doctors warned him during open-heart surgery that his weight was endangering his life. He now believes he has the best chance of staying with his family.
Eli Lilly filed six lawsuits against U.S. companies accused of illegally selling black-market versions of its experimental obesity drug retatrutide, escalating its campaign against unauthorized sellers before the medicine has won regulatory approval.
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has authorized orforglipron (brand name Foundayo), a once-daily oral medication from Eli Lilly for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, making the UK the first country in Europe to approve the drug.
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced it will allow a limited number of patients with severe obesity to access its unapproved experimental drug retatrutide through a compassionate use program, following a case where it granted the drug to a 79-year-old patient. The program has strict eligibility criteria that most patients cannot meet.
Brazil's health regulator Anvisa approved five new injectable GLP-1 drugs for diabetes and obesity treatment, following expedited regulatory reviews after Ozempic's patent expired in the country in March 2026.
India's drug regulator approved Novo Nordisk's obesity drug Wegovy for the treatment of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), a serious form of fatty liver disease, expanding the drug's approved uses beyond weight loss.
The European Commission has approved Novo Nordisk's once-daily Wegovy pill for weight management in adults with obesity or who are overweight, marking the first oral GLP-1 weight-loss treatment cleared for use across the European Union.
AstraZeneca announced results from a phase II trial showing its oral GLP-1 therapy reduced body weight by 10.5%, positioning the company to compete with Eli Lilly in the race to develop convenient pill-based obesity treatments. The drug is advancing to late-stage trials.
CVS Health announced it will add Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Zepbound back to some of its drug lists as an additional preferred option and begin coverage for the drugmaker's newly approved obesity pill, Forza.
Eli Lilly announced positive results from its Phase 3 TRIUMPH-1 trial showing retatrutide, an experimental triple-agonist obesity drug, achieved average weight loss of 28.3% at 80 weeks and 30.3% at 104 weeks on the highest dose, matching weight reduction levels typically seen with bariatric surgery.
New ethics disclosures reveal President Trump purchased stock in Eli Lilly and an injectable device manufacturer while his health agencies implemented policies benefiting these companies' obesity drug products.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced that its temporary BALANCE model program to cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity in Medicare will not launch as scheduled in January, effectively extending the current coverage approach.
Mayo Clinic study finds metabolic and bariatric surgery provides significantly greater long-term cardiovascular risk reduction compared to GLP-1 medications in people with obesity, despite both treatments improving heart health.
