MW The Wegovy pill is still dominating the GLP-1 pill market

By Jaimy Lee

Novo Nordisk's pill costs less than the Wegovy shot and Foundayo, Lilly's GLP-1 tablet for weight loss

The Wegovy pill has had one of the most successful drug launches of all time.

At least 3 million prescriptions of the Wegovy pill have been filled for Americans since early January. It's the latest sign of the unrelenting demand for weight-loss therapies in the U.S.

Novo Nordisk (NVO) (DK:NOVO.B), which sells the GLP-1 pill, said Sunday that there have been more than 3 million prescriptions for the highest dose of the Wegovy pill since the pill's launch on Jan. 5. This translates to about one prescription filled every five seconds, making the pill one of the most successful pharmaceutical launches of all time.

The Wegovy pill comes in four doses: 1.5 milligrams, 4 milligrams, 9 milligrams and 25 milligrams. The drugmaker also markets the Wegovy injection and Wegovy HD, a high-dose version of the same shot.

The Wegovy pill has remained a top choice even after the launch in April of Foundayo, Eli Lilly's $(LLY)$ non-peptide GLP-1 pill. Foundayo is different than the Wegovy pill in that it doesn't require people to wait 30 minutes after taking the tablet before eating or drinking anything.

More on Foundayo: America has a new weight-loss drug, and it's a pill

These oral medicines are less effective than the injections, but that hasn't been a problem for people who don't need or want to lose much weight or are looking for a different option to maintain the weight loss they achieved after taking Lilly's Zepbound or the Wegovy injection. The pills are also less expensive than the shots.

"Our customers are excited about the Wegovy pill in particular," Bill Newby, a Hims & Health Health $(HIMS)$ executive, said in May during an earnings call. "We've seen them respond extremely well to the affordable price point, impressive efficacy and strong safety profile. It's clearly a strong combination of efficacy, safety and affordability."

Foundayo brought in 17,000 prescriptions in its eighth week on the market. That's far lower than the roughly 74,000 prescriptions that came in for the Wegovy pill in the comparable week. This could be due, in part, to slower coverage for people with private health insurance, according to Jefferies, and that could start to change now that CVS Caremark $(CVS)$ added Foundayo as an option for health plans to its formularies.

"We continue to be encouraged by the growth of the oral GLP-1 category, which validates our belief that a lot of people were waiting for these medicines," Ken Custer, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health, said Saturday night at a presentation during the American Diabetes Association's annual meeting.

Both companies have said that the majority of the new prescriptions are for new users of GLP-1s, not people switching from the more effective and expensive injections. These consumers tend to be younger and male, according to remarks made by executives.

Novo, which once had the lead in the GLP-1 weight-loss market, has struggled to keep pace with Lilly in recent years. Its U.S.-listed stock is down about 32% over the last year. However, the successful launch of the Wegovy pill and its explosive growth is a bright spot for the company.

"Novo's Wegovy pill launch continues to exceed expectations, showing better-than-expected growth providing more confidence in the company's commercial business," BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan David Seigerman told investors on Sunday.

-Jaimy Lee

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 07, 2026 19:35 ET (23:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.