Scholar Rock CEO on its drug that could preserve muscle in weight-loss drug users
David Hallal, Scholar Rock CEO, joins 'Fast Money' to talk its recent drug study results that found its drug taken in combination with Zepbound helped prevent muscle loss.
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3 hours ago
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Exclusive-New data show most US patients now stay on Wegovy, Zepbound after a year
By Chad Terhune LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Nearly two-thirds of patients who started on weight-loss drugs Wegovy or Zepbound last year were still taking them a year later, according to an analysis of U.S. pharmacy claims. That level of persistence is higher than what prior analyses have shown, suggesting that more patients might be staying on the popular GLP-1 drugs for obesity as product shortages ease, insurance coverage expands and doctors manage side effects better, health experts say. Sixty-three percent of patients starting on Novo Nordisk's Wegovy or Eli Lilly's Zepbound during the first quarter of 2024 were still taking them 12 months later. For Wegovy, that was up significantly from 40% who started therapy in 2023 and 34% who began three years ago in this analysis by Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefits manager (PBM). Patrick Gleason, Prime's assistant vice president for health outcomes and a co-author of the analysis, said he was surprised to see persistence rise above 50%. "It's a near doubling from one-third persistent to roughly two-thirds now," Gleason said. "This is a dramatic change, and I believe this is more reflective of what we will see going forward." Zepbound's results were relatively unchanged year over year, though the number of U.S. patients starting on the medication in 2023 was limited since it did not launch until November of that year. Wegovy was approved in June 2021. The analysis shared with Reuters does not include details about why patients continued or stopped therapy. Some people have reported stopping because the drugs became unaffordable or their insurance no longer covered them. Others quit due to common gastrointestinal side effects, inability to get refills due to supply shortages or achievement of their weight-loss goal, among other factors. Studies have shown that most patients who quit their GLP-1 drugs usually regain most of the weight. The medications may require extended use to yield meaningful benefits for patients' health. Many employers and government agencies remain wary of adding coverage for these highly effective, but expensive medicines due to the significant upfront investment and uncertainty about any future savings. Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, co-director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, said low persistence on these weight-loss drugs had been concerning and the new data might indicate that increased insurance coverage is helping to turn the tide. Novo declined to comment on the data, and Lilly did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Prime is owned by 19 U.S. Blue Cross and Blue Shield health insurance plans and manages pharmacy benefits for about 73 million people. LONGER TERM DIVERGENCE In its analysis, Prime reviewed pharmacy and medical claims for 23,025 people with commercial health plans who received prescriptions for either Wegovy or Zepbound and had a diagnosis of obesity. Prime excluded patients with a diabetes diagnosis in their medical claims or who were using a drug for type 2 diabetes, for which these GLP-1 medicines were originally developed. The mean age of patients in the year-over-year analysis was 46 and 77% were female. Patients were deemed persistent with their medication if they had no 60-day gaps in supply. The data allowed for switching among GLP-1 products. The data does not include patients who took compounded versions of the weight-loss drugs or paid for their prescription out of pocket outside of insurance. Prime also did a separate analysis of longer-term use. Only 14% of patients were still taking Wegovy after three years, the data show. That was a drop from 24% on Wegovy at the two-year mark. That longer-term analysis examined 5,780 patients who had remained enrolled in their health insurance for three years and did not have type 2 diabetes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy, from its shortage list earlier this year and did the same for tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound, in December. Those moves eventually barred compounding pharmacies from making cheaper copies of the weight-loss drugs. Some patients have purchased these weight-loss medications directly from the drugmakers outside of their health insurance. Those prescriptions were not tracked in this analysis and that cohort of patients may behave differently, said David Lassen, Prime's vice president of clinical pharmacy services. "That group could have a different adherence pattern," Lassen said. "That's something we want to continue to watch."
Yahoo
3 hours ago
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3 Reasons to Buy Eli Lilly Stock Like There's No Tomorrow
Eli Lilly is grabbing the lead in the fast-growing diabetes drug market. The company has also worked hard to diversify its pipeline. The stock is worth the premium. 10 stocks we like better than Eli Lilly › Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) has been on fire over the past two years. The drugmaker has generated excellent financial results and delivered strong market performance -- so strong that detractors might think it's too late to invest. Lilly's forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio currently tops 35, which is more than twice the average of 15.8 for the healthcare industry. And that's before we get into other issues, such as President Donald Trump's tariff policies, which could harm Lilly's financial results. Even with these potential headwinds, though, there are excellent reasons to invest in Eli Lilly. Let's consider three of them. Eli Lilly has been a leader in the diabetes drug market for decades. That business is still performing well, and over the past five years, the pharmaceutical giant has also made significant clinical and regulatory progress in the related anti-obesity space. It earned approval for Mounjaro and Zepbound, which treat obesity and diabetes (respectively) and are already generating well over $1 billion per quarter. Lilly recently posted phase 3 results for orforglipron. This investigational oral GLP-1 medicine would provide patients with another option, as the current leading medications are administered by subcutaneous injection. The pipeline also features retatrutide, a triple agonist that posted strong phase 2 results. More recently, Lilly reported encouraging phase 1 data for a next-gen weight loss medicine. The company has been even more impressive than Novo Nordisk, its longtime rival, from which it has arguably taken the lead. While Novo Nordisk was first to market with medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy, the Denmark-based company faced some clinical setbacks. Meanwhile, Lilly is notching win after win. Eli Lilly's position in the weight management market makes its stock attractive, considering how fast this area is projected to grow in the coming years. Eli Lilly isn't a one-trick pony. The company's lineup of approved medicines features blockbusters like Verzenio, a cancer drug, and Taltz, an immunosuppressant. It also includes likely future blockbusters such as Alzheimer's disease treatment Kisunla and eczema treatment Ebglyss. Lilly isn't slowing down, though. The company has been expanding its pipeline through acquisitions. In May, it acquired SiteOne Therapeutics, a small biotech with a promising oral non-opioid pain inhibitor in clinical trials. Though there are plenty of pain treatments, there is a need for non-opioid options, given the potential side effects of opioid-based therapies. The buyout of SiteOne Therapeutics cost Eli Lilly $1 billion in cash. Then on June 17, Lilly announced it would acquire Verve Therapeutics, a biotech that develops gene-editing medicines for cardiovascular diseases, for about $1.3 billion in cash. These deals demonstrate that Eli Lilly doesn't want to rely too heavily on its core therapeutic areas, which investors should appreciate. Eli Lilly's valuation might be a significant stumbling block for some investors. If the stock fails to meet the market's lofty expectations, its shares will plummet. That's what happened after the company reported first-quarter earnings. Though they would have been considered blowout results for any other pharmaceutical giant of comparable size, Eli Lilly is different. Weaker-than-expected guidance sent the stock price down significantly. Even so, Lilly grew revenue by 45% year over year to $12.7 billion. Revenue growth in this range is exceedingly rare for a drugmaker of this size. And net income grew by a still-impressive 29% year over year to $3 billion. Eli Lilly is worth a premium considering the strength of its financial results, even if the stock is somewhat volatile in the short term. The company's work in weight management, diabetes, and other areas should lead to numerous clinical and regulatory successes over the next five years, as well as consistently above-average growth on the top and bottom lines. That's why despite its rich valuation metrics, the stock remains a buy. Before you buy stock in Eli Lilly, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and Eli Lilly wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $676,023!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $883,692!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 793% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 173% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of June 23, 2025 Prosper Junior Bakiny has positions in Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool recommends Novo Nordisk. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 3 Reasons to Buy Eli Lilly Stock Like There's No Tomorrow was originally published by The Motley Fool Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
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12 hours ago
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Hims & Hers Strengthens Its Footprint in Consumer-Driven Obesity Care
The renowned health and wellness platform, Hims & Hers Health, Inc. HIMS, has increasingly prioritized weight loss as a key area of growth and innovation in its healthcare platform. In recent months, the company introduced a six-month Wegovy offer priced at $549 per month for eligible new customers. This initiative was designed to improve affordability and sustained access to prescription weight loss medication, bundled with holistic support such as clinical oversight and nutritional guidance. The program reflects Hims & Hers' broader strategy to make proven obesity treatments more connected and accessible through technology-driven, consumer-friendly healthcare delivery. Hims & Hers' platform currently offers bundled access to all strengths of Wegovy with around-the-clock care, clinical support and personalized nutrition coaching. This integrated approach, provided at a unified monthly price, is aimed at improving long-term health outcomes for people living with obesity. These efforts align with Hims & Hers' broader vision of consumer-centered healthcare that puts individuals at the center of care decisions and delivers a seamless patient experience across digital touchpoints. Weight loss is also deeply integrated into Hims & Hers' long-term strategy. The company identified weight loss among chronic conditions as being actively targeted through personalized, subscription-based telehealth offerings. It launched access to compounded and branded GLP-1 medications like semaglutide, addressing rising consumer demand and market shortages. Despite regulatory uncertainties, such as the FDA's February 2025 resolution of the semaglutide shortage, HIMS continues to expand its weight loss platform, reinforcing it as a high-growth specialty with significant consumer relevance. Eli Lilly and Company LLY has advanced its leadership in the obesity treatment space with key developments in both injectables and oral therapies. This month, Eli Lilly expanded access to all approved doses of Zepbound (tirzepatide) through its LillyDirect Self Pay Pharmacy Solutions platform, enhancing affordability and continuity of care for patients pursuing weight management. Complementing this, Eli Lilly's oral GLP-1 candidate, orforglipron, showed Phase 3 results with efficacy and safety comparable to injectable treatments, reinforcing the company's commitment to comprehensive obesity care. Amgen Inc. AMGN is actively advancing innovation in obesity care through differentiated, long-acting biologics. This month, Amgen unveiled full Phase 2 results for MariTide, a novel, monthly-dosed obesity treatment, showing up to 20% average weight loss and sustained cardiometabolic benefits over 52 weeks without a plateau. With improved tolerability from dose escalation, MariTide enters Phase 3 trials targeting obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnea, strengthening Amgen's position in the obesity therapeutics space Shares of Hims & Hers have surged 73.6% year to date compared with the industry's growth of 18.2%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research HIMS' forward 12-month P/S of 3.6X is lower than the industry's average of 5.9X, but is higher than its five-year median of 2.6X. It carries a Value Score of C. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HIMS' 2025 earnings per share suggests a 170.4% improvement from 2024. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Hims & Hers stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) : Free Stock Analysis Report Amgen Inc. (AMGN) : Free Stock Analysis Report Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
