Eli Lilly is gaining ground in the rapidly expanding market for oral weight-loss treatments, with CEO Dave Ricks saying Foundayo now represents about one-third of new U.S. patients starting a GLP-1 pill. The development strengthens Lilly’s position against Novo Nordisk at a time when pharmaceutical companies are racing to capture demand for more convenient alternatives to injectable obesity treatments.

Foundayo Is Rapidly Expanding Its Share of New Patients

Foundayo, the brand name for orforglipron, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April and reached pharmacies shortly afterward. Ricks said Lilly’s share of new oral GLP-1 starts has continued to rise week after week, indicating that the company is narrowing the gap with Novo Nordisk, whose Wegovy pill entered the market earlier.

The scale of the opportunity is significant because oral treatments could expand the overall obesity-drug market by reaching patients who are reluctant to use injections. Novo has previously estimated that oral medicines could account for more than one-third of GLP-1 obesity treatment use by 2030, making the pill segment an increasingly important battleground for both companies.

Early Sales Are Modest, but Lilly’s Core Franchise Remains Strong

Foundayo generated $98 million in second-quarter sales, its first full quarter on the market. That figure is small relative to Lilly’s overall business, but the drug is entering a market with substantial long-term growth potential. Lilly reported $23.0 billion in second-quarter revenue, an increase of 48% from a year earlier, driven primarily by strong demand for Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Mounjaro sales reached $9.94 billion in the quarter, up 91%, while Zepbound generated $4.93 billion, up 46%. Lilly subsequently raised its 2026 revenue guidance to between $85 billion and $87 billion. The strong performance of the injectable portfolio gives the company a substantial commercial base while Foundayo develops its own patient base.

Lilly Is Investing Ahead of Global Foundayo Demand

The company’s manufacturing plans signal that management is preparing for demand to extend beyond the initial U.S. launch. Lilly broke ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility in Houston that will produce active pharmaceutical ingredients for Foundayo and other medicines. The site is part of a broader $50 billion effort to expand U.S. pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and strengthen domestic supply chains.

Foundayo is also under regulatory review in more than 40 countries, with Lilly targeting a broader international rollout. The drug’s small-molecule structure is designed to make production more scalable than certain biologic medicines, potentially giving Lilly greater flexibility as demand expands.

For investors, the next indicators will be Foundayo’s prescription growth, market share versus Wegovy, international approvals and the pace at which manufacturing capacity comes online. The key question is whether Lilly can turn early gains among new oral patients into a large recurring revenue stream while maintaining momentum in Mounjaro and Zepbound and funding its broader pipeline.