Overview
- Novo Nordisk raised its 2026 guidance on Wednesday after a first-quarter beat, reporting $15.2 billion in net sales and $354 million from the new Wegovy pill.
- Weekly prescriptions for the once-daily Wegovy pill reached about 200,000 by mid-April, with roughly 1.3 million in Q1 and more than 2 million since the January launch.
- Close to 80% of pill users were new to GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, the CEO said, which backs analyst views that pills are adding patients rather than replacing injections.
- Eli Lilly’s Foundayo pill is building more slowly, with 7,335 U.S. prescriptions in its fourth week, while Lilly reports over 8,000 prescribers and more than 20,000 patients treated.
- Pricing pressure, partial self-pay use, and signs of stockpiling by wholesalers and online pharmacies remain key risks as Novo targets first launches outside the U.S. in the second half of 2026 pending regulatory decisions.