Shares of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly skyrocketed to a record high on Tuesday, after the company reported a surge in sales of its diabetes and weight loss drug Mounjaro, while shares of rival Novo Nordisk also shot up to a record high following a promising clinical trial of its diabetes drug Wegovy–as both companies push for full approval of the drugs for weight loss.
Eli Lilly's shares jumped to a record high following a better-than-expected earnings report, while ... [+]
Eli Lilly’s stock jumped by nearly 14% as of early Tuesday afternoon to an all-time high of just over $514, the company’s biggest single-day increase by percentage since November 2020.
The spike on Wall Street follows an auspicious quarterly earnings report, which showed spikes in sales of four of its drugs, including diabetes drug Mounjaro, breast cancer pill Verzenio and antidiabetic medication Jardiance, helped drive the company’s revenue up 28% to $8.31 billion in the fiscal quarter ending on June 30 from the same period last year.
Shares of Novo Nordisk, which also makes the popular drug Ozempic, have also experienced a drastic rise since the start of the year, climbing nearly 38% on the year so far and increasing more than 16% on Tuesday to a record high of nearly $187.
The Danish drugmaker’s big day follows the release of large-scale clinical trial results showing the company’s obesity drug Wegovy reduced the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events 20%.
Sales of Mounjaro between March and June totalled nearly $980 million worldwide, including $915.7 million in the U.S. alone—a drastic increase from $16 million over the same time last year and more than $200 million above analysts’ expectations, as the popularity of weight-loss drugs including Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, going through the roof.
Eli Lilly pushed for fast-track approval of Mounjaro for weight-loss purposes in April following the release of encouraging clinical trial results that found the use of the drug, known as tirzepatide, helped overweight or obese adults lose up to 16% of their weight over 17 months, making the once-a-week injection potentially more successful than its competitors, including Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic. The Food and Drug Administration had approved Mounjaro as a diabetes medication last year to improve blood sugar levels of adults with type 2 diabetes, and the drug is expected to be approved by the FDA for weight loss as early as this fall, after it received fast-track designation last October, accelerating its approval process. Eli Lilly’s push for full FDA approval comes two years after Wegovy was approved by the FDA for chronic weight management for overweight and obese adults with at least one weight condition, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol or type 2 diabetes. Ozempic, which was approved in 2017 to lower blood sugar of adults with type-two diabetes, has not received FDA approval for weight loss.
Eli Lilly Pushes For Fast-Track Approval Of Mounjaro As Weight-Loss Drug (Forbes)