More than 20,000 people are taking Eli Lilly’s weight loss pill, CEO says

The FDA approved Lilly’s once-daily pill Foundayo earlier this month, making it the second oral GLP-1 drug behind Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill. Investors have been closely tracking weekly prescriptions for clues on how the launch is going.

More than 1,000 people are starting Foundayo a day, Ricks said in an exclusive interview with CNBC. He said it’ll take time to build the brand since it’s a new drug that doctors and patients don’t know. He contrasted it against the launch of the company’s Zepbound weight loss injection, which had the same active ingredient as its existing diabetes drug, Mounjaro, and against Novo’s Wegovy pill, which had the same brand name and active ingredient as the shot.

“So what we’re seeing now is basically organic demand, which is pretty strong to us,” Ricks said.

“This is going to play out over quarters, not days, and I just ask people to take a beat and let us execute,” Ricks said. “I think it’s going to be just fine.”

More than 80% of people taking Foundayo are new to GLP-1s, he said.