Eli Lilly’s Zepbound drug likely to dominate global obesity market: Report

New Delhi:  Eli Lilly’s Zepbound drug holds potential to dominate the global obesity market due to its superior efficacy and strategic market expansion, a report showed on Tuesday.

The drug will likely dominate the obesity market, surpassing Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide), according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

It has been a year since the launch of Zepbound (tirzepatide) for obesity, and Eli Lilly’s competition with Novo Nordisk continues.

“From the start, Zepbound emerged as the primary new competitor of Wegovy, and it seems that Eli Lilly has followed in some way Novo Nordisk’s strategy to increase patients’ population through investigating the drug in multiple indications,” said Costanza Alciati, pharma analyst at GlobalData.

Recently, Eli Lilly announced the results from its SURMOUNT-5 trial, comparing Zepbound and Wegovy’s efficacy on equal grounds.

Zepbound, as expected, was more effective in promoting weight loss. While Wegovy caused an average weight loss of 13.7 per cent body weight, Zepbound promoted around 20.2 per cent body weight loss in patients.

On December 20, 2024, tirzepatide also received US FDA approval for obstructive sleep apnea.

Tirzepatide is being investigated for four additional indications, including cardiovascular risk factors, chronic kidney disease, and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH).

“Indeed, semaglutide is approved for type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular risk factors, and is in development for four additional indications, including chronic kidney disease,” said the report.

According to GlobalData drugs database, more than 400 companies are actively developing obesity drugs, from discovery to pre-registration candidates.

The impact of Wegovy on the obesity market has been huge. Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) interviewed by GlobalData defined it as “revolutionary”.

With Zepbound, the revolution continues, and Eli Lilly’s drug is more potent, and perhaps negotiations with national health services will also make it more cost-effective than Wegovy, said Alciati. “So, Zepbound is expected to take the lead in the obesity market if it hasn’t already done so”.

—IANS