New York, Jan 9, 2026, 11:27 EST — Regular trading
- LLY off roughly 0.4% in morning trade, with investors weighing a $1.2 billion Ventyx buy
- Fresh late-stage results put Zepbound alongside Taltz in psoriatic arthritis patients
- Schrodinger is set to launch Lilly’s TuneLab on LiveDesign, with attention shifting to the JPMorgan conference next week
Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) shares were down about 0.4% at $1,081 in morning trade on Friday. The drugmaker said this week it will buy autoimmune developer Ventyx Biosciences for $1.2 billion in cash, bringing oral candidates for inflammatory bowel disease into its pipeline. The $14-a-share offer is slated to close in the first half of 2026, and Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Carter Gould described the price as “borderline immaterial” for Lilly. Reuters
Lilly’s stock has been trading on the next act as much as the drugs it’s selling today. With its biggest growth engine tied up in diabetes and obesity, investors have been hunting for clues that the company can keep broadening the pipeline without letting costs spiral.
This week’s headlines hit as the industry is still grappling with access and pricing for weight-loss drugs, alongside a wider push to speed up drug development. In that backdrop, even small deals and tight trial readouts can look larger on a screen.
Lilly said a late-stage (Phase 3) trial in 271 overweight or obese adults with active psoriatic arthritis — an inflammatory joint disease linked to psoriasis — found its weight-loss drug Zepbound, paired with Taltz, eased symptoms and delivered more weight loss than Taltz alone. The company said 31.7% of patients on the combination met the main goal — at least a 50% reduction in disease activity and at least 10% weight loss after 36 weeks — compared with 0.8% on Taltz alone. Nausea, diarrhea and constipation were the most common side effects. Mark Genovese, a senior vice president at Lilly Immunology Development, called it an “integrated treatment approach” that could raise the standard of care. Reuters
Schrodinger said it plans to make Lilly’s TuneLab platform available through its LiveDesign drug-design software, handing biotechs direct access to the drugmaker’s artificial-intelligence models. Chief Strategy Officer Karen Akinsanya said the rollout should land in the first quarter for existing LiveDesign clients, and reach new users in the second quarter. Lilly TuneLab head Aliza Apple said the aim is “moving molecules through discovery faster” for patients. Reuters
Weight-loss drug competition stayed front and center after Amazon Pharmacy said it is now offering Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill, which U.S. regulators approved in December, through insurance plans and for cash pay. Customers who qualify and have commercial insurance could pay $25 for a one-month supply; cash prices start at $149 a month. Amazon said demand for the pill will hinge on drawing in cash-paying consumers who can’t get insurance coverage.
Drugmakers, though, are under renewed political heat over pricing. Johnson & Johnson said it struck a deal with President Donald Trump’s administration to cut U.S. drug prices in return for exemptions from tariffs, without giving specific terms. A wider effort that demands steeper discounts could crimp margins across the industry, and weight-loss drugs are still a prime target for payers and politicians.
Lilly’s next date on the calendar is Jan. 13, with CEO David Ricks set for a fireside chat at 5:15 p.m. Eastern time at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, the company said in December. Investors will be tuned in for any color on how fast Lilly can absorb the Ventyx deal, keep supply moving and advance its next round of trials.
