Lilly CEO pushes wider GLP‑1 uptake

Eli Lilly’s chief executive said the company wants GLP-1 weight-loss drugs used far more broadly in the U.S. as Lilly starts selling a newly approved obesity pill. (semafor.com) David Ricks said Friday, April 17, at Semafor World Economy in Washington that he was “disappointed” only about one in 10 Americans are on GLP-1s. Semafor reported the remark a little more than two weeks after the Food and Drug Administration approved Lilly’s oral obesity drug Foundayo, the brand name for orforglipron, on April 1. (semafor.com, investor.lilly.com) GLP-1 drugs mimic a gut hormone that helps people feel full and slows digestion; Lilly said adults taking Foundayo lost an average of 27 pounds on the highest dose in the ATTAIN-1 trial. Lilly also said the pill can be taken any time of day without food or water restrictions, unlike earlier oral GLP-1 drugs. (investor.lilly.com, patientcareonline.com) Lilly is making the access argument as obesity remains widespread in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than 2 in 5 U.S. adults have obesity, and a 2025 KFF poll found 12% of adults said they were currently taking a GLP-1 drug. (cdc.gov, kff.org) The debate is not only about demand. KFF said half of people who have taken GLP-1 drugs called them difficult to afford, and KFF’s employer reporting found some companies tightened coverage rules or considered scaling back because of cost. (kff.org, kff.org) The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review said in a 2025 white paper that wider use of obesity medicines could improve health outcomes but still create major budget pressure for the U.S. health system. Its paper focused on semaglutide and Lilly’s Zepbound and laid out policy options for broader access without open-ended spending. (icer.org) Lilly has been pushing lower advertised cash prices through its own channels while it argues for more uptake. Lilly says Foundayo will start at $25 a month for patients with commercial coverage and $149 for self-pay through LillyDirect, while Zepbound self-pay pricing starts at $299 for the lowest-dose KwikPen. (investor.lilly.com, zepbound.lilly.com) Government coverage is also shifting. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says access to GLP-1 drugs for weight loss under its BALANCE model could begin in Medicaid as early as May 2026 for participating states and in Medicare Part D in January 2027. (cms.gov) Ricks’ pitch lands as Lilly and Novo Nordisk move the obesity fight from weekly injections to daily pills. Lilly’s message is that easier-to-take drugs can move GLP-1 use beyond today’s roughly one-in-10 level; insurers, employers and public programs still have to decide how much of that expansion they will pay for. (cnbc.com, semafor.com, cms.gov)