New York, Jan 13, 2026, 11:51 EST — Regular session
- Eli Lilly shares ticked up roughly 0.2% after the FDA requested that drugmakers drop suicide-related warnings from labels on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
- Lilly’s R&D chief said the company is targeting a swift, multi-country rollout of its oral obesity drug orforglipron, with a cash price set at $150 a month.
- Investors are focused on rising pill competition, pricing pressures, and the upcoming FDA ruling as the obesity-drug market takes another turn.
Shares of Eli Lilly and Company inched up 0.2% to $1,083.63 on Tuesday, fluctuating between $1,070 and $1,090 as roughly 736,000 shares exchanged hands. The move followed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s request that drugmakers strip suicide-related warnings from labels on GLP-1 weight-loss medications, including Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy. (Reuters)
The request matters because safety language on labels can influence how quickly doctors prescribe and how confident insurers feel about coverage. In a market already clogged with supply and demand chatter, even minor shifts in perceived risk can quickly sway sentiment.
It comes amid a fresh rush to take obesity treatment from weekly injections to daily pills, with an increasing number of patients paying out of pocket. This shift could expand the addressable market but also heighten the risk of price competition.
Lilly’s chief scientific and product officer, Daniel Skovronsky, told Reuters the company expects to have enough supply to launch its daily weight-loss pill, orforglipron, in multiple countries almost simultaneously as it moves toward U.S. approval “in the coming months.” The drug benefits from a fast-track review voucher, potentially cutting FDA review to just one to two months. Skovronsky highlighted a $150-a-month cash price and no fasting requirements as advantages over Novo’s pill. (Reuters)
In a separate move, Lilly and Nvidia announced plans to invest up to $1 billion over five years to create an AI co-innovation lab in the San Francisco Bay Area. The facility aims to accelerate drug discovery and development. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted the goal of enabling scientists to test more concepts “in silico,” meaning via computer simulations, before synthesizing molecules. Lilly CEO David A. Ricks said the collaboration “could reinvent drug discovery as we know it.” (NVIDIA Investor Relations)
Illumina stepped up the AI push Tuesday, rolling out a “Billion Cell Atlas” dataset and listing partners like Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Merck. CEO Jacob Thaysen described it as “a key development” to boost AI’s role in drug discovery, aiming to help drugmakers cut costs and identify targets and safety concerns sooner. (Reuters)
Novo Nordisk’s Executive Vice President Ludovic Helfgott told Reuters the company expects oral weight-loss drugs to capture “up to a third-plus” of the GLP-1 market by 2030. The firm rolled out a daily oral version of Wegovy in the U.S. earlier this month, priced at $149 per month. Helfgott noted the pill could appeal to people hesitant about injections. (Reuters)
Deal chatter continues. On Monday, France’s Finance Ministry stated it had no contact with Lilly and hadn’t received any investment screening requests concerning French biotech Abivax, despite reports sparking talk of a possible 15 billion euro bid. Lilly declined to comment on business development activity. (Reuters)
Shares of Novo in the U.S. edged up roughly 0.2% by late morning, with Illumina climbing around 0.9%.
The road ahead isn’t smooth. Oral obesity pills might broaden access, but their wider adoption will keep regulators, doctors, and payers scrutinizing side effects, long-term adherence, and real-world results — the usual trouble spots for surprises. Pricing also remains a sticky issue, especially with cash-pay programs on the rise and more competitors entering the field.
Investors will be tuning in to executives at the JPMorgan healthcare conference throughout the week, closely monitoring how swiftly companies respond to the FDA’s labeling demands. Lilly’s next major event is the FDA’s call on orforglipron, which Skovronsky noted might land within one to two months, thanks to the fast-track voucher timeline.
