Eli Lilly says Foundayo draws one‑third of new GLP‑1 pill patients
Ricks gave no period or patient count for the estimate as Lilly broke ground on its US$6.5 billion Houston ingredients plant.
Adrian Kessler
An estimated one-third of patients newly starting oral GLP-1 drugs are taking Foundayo, Eli Lilly and Company NYSELLY chief executive Dave Ricks told CNBC on Sept. 21, as the drugmaker broke ground on a Houston manufacturing plant. The US$6.5 billion project is expected to operate by 2030, according to CNBC's account.
The share figure describes people starting pills, and CNBC's published account gives no patient count, measurement period or data source for Lilly's estimate. Lilly's Sept. 21 plant release does not repeat the figure. Ricks said Lilly's oral-market share was growing week over week, but the published interview includes no weekly prescription series. Patient starts and dollar sales measure different things, leaving the estimate without a comparable revenue figure.
Lilly is an Indianapolis-based global drugmaker whose diabetes and obesity medicines sit alongside cancer and immunology treatments. Its oral weight-management pill has entered a market where Novo Nordisk already sells a competing treatment.
Lilly shares NYSELLY closed at US$1,170.14 in New York at 4:04 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22. The NYSELLY quote showed a 0.45 per cent gain at 4:04 p.m. EDT on Sept. 22.
Novo Had the First Approved Weight-Loss Pill
Novo Nordisk A/S CPHNOVO-B NYSENVO says its oral semaglutide, a peptide protected by an absorption carrier, became the first GLP-1 pill approved in the U.S. for weight management in 2025. Lilly received FDA approval for Foundayo on April 1 for adults with obesity or adults with overweight and a weight-related condition. Lilly describes Foundayo as a small-molecule tablet that can be taken at any time without food or water restrictions.
Novo's NYSE shares NYSENVO traded at US$38.22 in New York at 3:50 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23. The NYSENVO quote showed a 3.01 per cent decline at 3:50 p.m. EDT on Sept. 23.
Lilly's Aug. 5 second-quarter release reported US$23.0 billion in company-wide revenue, up 48 per cent from the year-earlier quarter, mainly on Mounjaro and Zepbound volume. Foundayo appeared on Lilly's key-products list for the first time in that report. The US$23.0 billion total covers Lilly's entire business.
Houston Adds Future Ingredient Capacity
Lilly announced the US$6.5 billion Houston investment on Sept. 23, 2025, with a plan to manufacture active pharmaceutical ingredients for small-molecule medicines. Lilly's Sept. 21, 2026 release reported groundbreaking on that previously announced project. The site is intended to make the active ingredient for Foundayo and other medicines. Lilly described active-ingredient production, without giving an annual capacity target or a date for commercial shipments from Houston.
"We will make and ship Lilly's latest products from Texas to people here at home and around the world," Ricks said in Lilly's Sept. 21 release.
The company expects more than 600 jobs at the facility and 4,000 construction jobs as it is built. Its Sept. 21 release also committed US$12.5 million to training at San Jacinto College for chemical-synthesis work. Lilly also plans oligonucleotide manufacturing at Houston, broadening the site's proposed output beyond its obesity pill. Lilly says oligonucleotides can switch off the production of specific proteins.
Read more: Ionis Pharmaceuticals' Phase 3 kidney trial meets proteinuria endpoint
Lilly expects Foundayo data for type 2 diabetes and obstructive sleep apnea later in 2026, according to its Sept. 21 release. Those readouts will test uses beyond the current U.S. weight-management label, while regulators weigh the pill in more than 40 countries ahead of Lilly's targeted 2027 global rollout.
