Lilly and Novo cut prices as the obesity drug market races toward US$100 billion by 2030
By
Freschia Gonzales
Aug 06, 2026
Price competition is intensifying between the two firms that dominate the market for GLP-1 obesity and diabetes drugs, yet early prescribing data shows patients still favour the costlier injectable versions over cheaper new pills.
The global market for obesity drugs reached US$66bn in 2025, according to data firm IQVIA cited by Reuters, and analysts expect it to top US$100bn a year by 2030.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which together lead the category, both reported rising demand this week and lifted their full-year forecasts.
Prices are under pressure.
Lilly has cut prices for its obesity treatments, and Novo’s oral Wegovy no longer holds the pricing advantage it had at launch, Reutersreported.
A new US Medicare bridge program that began last month offers weight-loss drugs at a US$50 monthly co-pay.
The Wegovy pill is much cheaper than Novo’s injectables, according to the Financial Times, though that lower price has weighed on the company’s sales.
Novo and other drugmakers have also reduced US prices under a most-favoured-nation agreement struck with US President Donald Trump, per CNBC.
Cheaper pills have not shifted patient behaviour so far.
Injectable GLP-1s still account for roughly three of every four new patient starts, Lilly Chief Financial Officer Lucas Montarce said.
In the US Medicare obesity-drug pilot launched last month, about 80 percent of patients chose to begin on an injectable Many industry experts had expected patients to prefer pills for convenience, Reutersreported.
Utilization keeps climbing regardless of format.
Novo’s Wegovy pill has topped 5m prescriptions since its January launch, CNBC reported.
Lilly’s injectable Mounjaro rose 91 percent to US$9.94bn in the second quarter and Zepbound brought in US$4.93bn
Product perception is reinforcing the tilt toward injectables.
The general view holds that tirzepatide, the ingredient in Lilly’s Zepbound and Mounjaro, is the stronger option, with efficacy the deciding factor for consumers, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman told Reuters.
“The general consensus in the community is that tirzepatide is the better product… efficacy is what’s key,” he said.
