Lilly exec eyes more weight-loss drug launches this year

[January 17, 2024]  By Divya Chowdhury and Patrick Wingrove

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) -Eli Lilly on Tuesday said it plans to launch its weight-loss drug Mounjaro in new countries this year as it expands manufacturing capacity.

"It's not just about which market we want to go into, it's also about being able to negotiate reimbursement," Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly International, told Reuters at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos.

The Indianapolis-based drugmaker's popular drug Mounjaro was approved in the U.S., UK and Europe late last year for weight-loss, but has only been available - as Zepbound - in the U.S. In Europe, each country has the final say on whether to approve it for its population.

Yuffa said Lilly is waiting for European approval for its pen injector, which delivers the medicine, and is "optimistic" that could happen by the middle of the year. Europe has approved the drug to be sold in vials.

With soaring demand, supplies have been tight and Lilly has made deals to expand manufacturing capacity. In November, the company said it will build its first plant in Germany in the western town of Alzey for 2.3 billion euros ($2.5 billion).

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told Reuters last week the company was in talks with UK health officials over terms of use for the medicine there, and could launch in Britain following those discussions.

Ilya Yuffa, executive vice president of Eli Lilly and Company and president of Lilly International, speaks during a press conference on an event by the American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company, in Berlin, Germany November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse/File Photo

Lilly may evaluate a direct-to-patient model for individual markets in Europe based on each country's regulations, Yuffa said.

The drugmaker this month launched a website called Lilly Direct that allows people in the U.S. to order Zepbound directly from the company.

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(Reporting by Divya Chowdhury in Davos and Savio Shetty in Mumbai; Writing by Patrick Wingrove; Editing by Mark Porter, Sharon Singleton and Bill Berkrot)

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