Eli Lilly Foundayo prescriptions: 20,000 people taking drug, Ricks says
More than 20,000 people have started taking s GLP-1 pill Foundayo in its first few weeks on the market, Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC on Thursday. The FDA approved Lilly‘s once-daily pill Foundayo earlier this month, making it the second oral GLP-1 drug behind Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill. Investors have been closely tracking weekly prescriptions for clues on how the launch is going. More than 1,000 people are starting Foundayo a day, Ricks said in an exclusive interview with CNBC. He said it‘ll take time to build the brand since it’s a new drug that doctors and patients don‘t know. He contrasted it against the launch of the company’s Zepbound weight loss injection, which had the same active ingredient as its existing diabetes drug, Mounjaro, and against Novos Wegovy pill, which had the same brand name and active ingredient as the shot. “So what were seeing now is basically organic demand, which is pretty strong to us,” Ricks said. “This is going to play out over quarters, not days, and I just ask people to take a beat and let us execute,” Ricks said. “I think its going to be just fine.” More than 80% of people taking Foundayo are new to GLP-1s, he