Eli Lilly shares rise as Zepbound weight-loss test shows solid success

Shares of Eli Lilly climbed on Wednesday after the drug maker detailed a study showing that its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound helped patients shed more pounds than Wegovy from rival Novo Nordisk.

Patients taking Zepbound lost about 20% of their weight on average compared with nearly 14% for Wegovy, said Lilly, adding that more patients taking Zepbound achieved at least 25% weight loss.

The study results should help fuel Zepbound’s accelerating market-share gains, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said in a research note.

The drug brought in $1.3bn (€1.2bn) in sales for Lilly in this year’s third quarter, less than a year after it hit the market.

The study monitored 751 people from the US and Puerto Rico who took maximum tolerated doses of either Zepbound or Wegovy for more than a year.

The results affirm what separate studies for each drug had already indicated. The US Food and Drug Administration approved Zepbound last year after the drug helped people lose as much as 40 to 60 pounds (18 to 27 kilograms) in testing.

Studies of Wegovy showed that the drug helped people lose about 34 pounds (15 kilograms) or about 15% of their weight. Regulators approved Wegovy in 2021.

Both drugs are different versions of the diabetes treatments Mounjaro and Ozempic from Lilly and Novo, respectively.

Shares of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co rose nearly 2.4%, or about $19 (€18.1), to $833.21 (€794.93) after the news. US-traded shares of Denmark’s Novo Nordisk were also up slightly.

Lilly’s stock hit an all-time high of $972.53 (€927.85) in August, according to FactSet.