Lilly Secures Broad PBM Coverage for Tirzepatide Drugs
The deals expand insurance templates and cut patient costs, a change that could speed prescriptions and reinforce the company’s stronger 2026 sales outlook.
Overview
- Lilly reported $19.8 billion in Q1 revenue and raised full‑year 2026 guidance to $82 billion–$85 billion after strong sales of its tirzepatide medicines, which generated roughly $12.8 billion of the quarter’s revenue.
- The company announced on May 28 that all three major U.S. pharmacy benefit managers will cover its full obesity portfolio, with CVS Caremark commercial template coverage for Foundayo starting June 1 and broader template access rolling out by October 1.
- Lilly said eligible commercial patients may pay as little as $25 per month and Medicare Part D beneficiaries may qualify for $50 monthly cost‑sharing through the Medicare GLP‑1 Bridge program beginning July 1.
- Early third‑party trackers recorded modest initial prescriptions for Foundayo—about 1,390 in week one and 3,707 in week two—while Lilly reports larger early use figures and analysts warn that tracker data can undercount nascent oral launches.
- Beyond near‑term sales, Lilly is plowing revenue back into clinical R&D and manufacturing and advancing pipeline candidates such as retatrutide that investors view as key to sustaining growth once tirzepatide demand stabilizes.