Eli Lilly’s oral obesity pill got FDA approval last week. Foundayo (formerly orforglipron) is cleared and competing. The oral GLP-1 war has a second combatant.
Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy has the efficacy edge: over 16% weight loss in Phase 3 versus Foundayo’s 11%. That’s a five-point gap. No head-to-head trials have been run or are currently scheduled, so both companies will spin their individual data sets.
Lilly’s counter is convenience. Novo’s pill requires water. Foundayo doesn’t. In a market where adherence drives everything, dosing flexibility could close that five-percentage-point gap faster than anyone expects.
Gilead Sciences is buying partner Tubulis for up to $5 billion. Neurocrine Biosciences nabbed Soleno Therapeutics for $2.9 billion. Analysts flagged Amgen, AbbVie, and Bristol Myers Squibb as buyers with firepower still to deploy.
Trump’s 100% pharma tariff landed, though carveouts blunt the damage for most companies — for now. The Most Favored Nation pricing scheme is already pushing companies to skip European launches rather than risk pulling down U.S. prices.
The FDA’s proposed 2027 budget includes a push to permanently authorize the rare pediatric disease priority review voucher program, along with a new clinical trial notification pathway and expanded authority to regulate post-approval manufacturing changes. Rare disease leaders are still calling for clarity around externally controlled trials.
Sarah Chen