Novo Nordisk signaled openness to larger acquisitions while targeting over five multi-blockbuster drug launches by 2030, though its stock fell 8% at a Capital Markets Day. Smaller obesity biotech stocks including Viking Therapeutics, Structure Therapeutics, and Altimmune rose on the news, with their experimental weight-loss drugs showing efficacy ranging from 12.2% to 16.2%.
Novo's CEO Mike Doustdar defended the company's diversification strategy and signaled openness to M&A deals beyond obesity treatment, following investor disappointment at Monday's Capital Markets Day. The pharmaceutical giant faces mounting competition in weight-loss drugs from rivals like Eli Lilly and plans to launch five multi-blockbuster drugs by 2030 while expanding into blood disorders, liver disease, and cardiovascular areas.
Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks reported that 700,000 new seniors enrolled in GLP-1 obesity treatments through Medicare coverage since July, with 70% using Lilly drugs. Lilly's Zepbound injection and newly launched Foundayo pill are capturing the majority of new patients, with Ricks attributing success to physician preference for treating patients with higher weight and complications.
Eli Lilly is investing $6.5 billion to build a major pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Houston, expected to produce pill-form GLP-1 weight-loss drugs and other small-molecule medicines. The 236-acre facility will create approximately 600 permanent jobs and 4,000 construction positions, while the company is also funding $15 million in workforce development at San Jacinto College. Construction begins now with completion targeted for November 2027.
Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC that one-third of new GLP-1 pill patients are taking Foundayo as the company ramps up production to compete with rival Novo Nordisk. Lilly broke ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility in Houston expected to be operational by 2030, part of over $50 billion in manufacturing investments since 2020. Foundayo, which launched in April, generated $98 million in sales in its first quarter on the market.