North American Eli Lilly became the first company in the pharmaceutical sector to achieve one billion dollars in market capitalization, driven by success of your obesity medications, writes the agency Reuters.
The increase in value of more than 35% of the company’s shares this year is driven by the high demand for innovative treatments against obesity, in particular tirzepatidesold as Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for obesity. These drugs surpassed in sales the Keytrudafrom Merck, becoming one of the best-selling medicines globally.
Eli Lilly benefited from the delayed launch of Wegsfrom Novo Nordisk, in 2021, due to supply problems, and also stood out for the greater clinical efficacy of its medicines and the ability to quickly expand production.
In the last reported quarter, the company recorded more than $10 billion in revenue from its portfolio of obesity and diabetes treatments, representing more than half of the total $17.6 billion in revenue.
The global market for weight-loss drugs could reach $150 billion by 2030, with Lilly and Novo Nordisk controlling the majority of projected sales, writes Reuters.
The agency also highlights that Eli Lilly is benefiting from agreements with the North American administration that expand access to its drugs. Analysts point out, however, that the company will have to manage pressure on prices and margins to sustain growth.
With this milestone, Lilly joins the group of technology giants that gained the most value this year, such as Nvidia and Microsoft, showing that the pharmaceutical industry can also generate significant returns in the financial market.