Lilly's tirzepatide juggernaut is still gathering momentum
David Ricks, Lilly's chief executive.
Eli Lilly has shrugged off any concerns about the effect of US drug pricing policies on its tirzepatide-based drugs for diabetes and weight loss, as sales of the products rocketed to more than $16 billion in the third quarter.
Type 2 diabetes therapy Mounjaro led the charge, with sales up 65% on the same period of 2025 to $10.72 billion, while Zepbound for overweight/obesity leapt 49% to $5.35 billion, together accounting for two-thirds of Lilly's $24.4 billion in total revenues.
Their performance has prompted Lilly to raise its full-year revenue forecast by around $5.5 billion to $91-$92 billion and, if that is achieved, Lilly would likely leapfrog Roche into second place among the world's largest pharma groups based on 2025 annual revenues.
The company would lie only slightly behind Johnson & Johnson, with a phenomenal increase on last year's tally of just over $65 billion and more than double its 2024 revenues of $45 billion, and would likely extend its lead in the incretin market over Danish rival Novo.
The company acknowledged pricing pressure had knocked sales growth a little, particularly for Mounjaro, which was added to China's National Reimbursement Drug List (NRDL) at the start of this year on the back of price reductions of around 70% to 80%.
For Zepbound, which is supplied mainly through private prescriptions, growth was "partially offset by lower realised prices," it said.
Analysts said the strong result has diminished concerns that drug pricing policies in the US, such as the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) programme, would hinder sales of Lilly's cash-cow products, at least in the near-term.
Foundayo underperforming?
While Lilly's injectable incretin products are romping away, the performance of its oral GLP-1 agonist Foundayo (orforglipron) – currently competing head-to-head with Novo's first-to-market Wegovy (semaglutide) pill – was less impressive.
The product pulled in $184 million in the quarter, taking its total since launch earlier this year to $281 million, which came in below analyst expectations. Novo isn't due to report its third-quarter numbers until next week, but sales of oral Wegovy reached around $500 million in the second quarter of this year.
"Lilly had another strong quarter, exceeding our prior expectations and allowing us to raise our full-year outlook," said David Ricks, Lilly's chief executive.
"Revenue growth was driven by broad global consumer demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound, the global launches of Foundayo, expanded US coverage for obesity care, and a doubling in our newest products in oncology, immunology and neuroscience," he added.
Other strong performers included Lilly's Alzheimer's therapy Kisunla (donanemab), which rocketed 175% to $193 million in the quarter, as well as inflammatory bowel disease therapy Omvoh (mirikizumab; up 76% to $114 million) and blood cancer therapy Jaypirca (pirtobrutinib; up 59% to $228 million).
