Eli Lilly's 'Foundayo' Sees Weak Initial Prescription Numbers and Stock Impact

Eli Lilly and Company's new oral obesity treatment, 'Foundayo' (active ingredient: orforglipron), has seen initial weekly prescription numbers fall short of investor expectations, causing Lilly's stock to drop nearly 5%. According to IQVIA data, as of April 17, Foundayo's weekly prescription volume was 3,707, showing an increase, but this was in contrast to Novo Nordisk's oral 'Wegovy' (active ingredient: semaglutide), which recorded 18,410 prescriptions in its second week of launch, leading to disappointment. As a result, analysts have lowered their 2026 revenue forecast for Foundayo from $5 billion to $1.3 to $1.5 billion, indicating that Lilly has taken a step back in the race to develop non-peptide small-molecule oral treatments.

Novo Nordisk Expands Pipeline and Achieves Success in Oral Clinical Trials

In contrast, Novo Nordisk's stock rose 7%, highlighting the contrasting fortunes. This is due to the market dominance of Wegovy's oral formulation and additional positive clinical data. Novo Nordisk announced positive results from a Phase 3 clinical trial of oral semaglutide in pediatric and adolescent (10-17 years old) patients with type 2 diabetes, showing a significant reduction in blood sugar levels compared to placebo. As a result of this clinical trial, the drug is planned to be launched in the adolescent market under the name 'Ozempic pill,' which strategically expands the company's territory from the adult obesity and diabetes market to the pediatric diabetes market.

FDA Issues Priority Review Vouchers for Psychedelic Treatments

In the mental health and neuroscience fields, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued three 'Commissioner's National Priority Voucher' in response to the Trump administration's executive order encouraging the development of psychedelics. This is seen as a regulatory easing signal to accelerate market entry by shortening the approval review period to 1-2 months. The voucher recipients include Compass Pathways, which is developing synthetic psilocybin 'COMP360,' the non-profit Usona Institute, and Transcend Therapeutics, which is in the process of being acquired by Otsuka Pharmaceutical with its methylone-based substance 'TSND-201.'

Regeneron Negotiates Drug Prices and Circumvents Tariff Barriers

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals has largely mitigated the uncertainty surrounding drug price pressures by entering into a drug price reduction agreement with the Trump administration. Regeneron agreed to lower the price of its hypercholesterolemia treatment, 'Praluent' (active ingredient: alirocumab), from $537 to $225 and supply it to the government platform 'TrumpRx.gov,' and to provide its innovative gene therapy 'Otarmeni' (active ingredient: lunsotogene parvec-cwha) free of charge. In return, Regeneron secured a three-year tariff exemption and support for domestic manufacturing, which is a pragmatic compromise to circumvent regulatory risks in the market and ensure revenue stability.

Amgen and BridgeBio Announce Leadership Changes

Finally, Amgen and BridgeBio Pharma's spin-out company in the cancer treatment sector, BridgeBio Oncology Therapeutics, have announced leadership changes in quick succession to reorganize their operations. Amgen appointed Jay Bradner as its head of R&D to accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and data technology into its ecosystem and announced the retirement of David Reese, CTO. BridgeBio Oncology appointed Pedro Beltran as its new CEO to strengthen the strategic focus on the development of RAS-targeted cancer drugs. Leadership changes can be a critical turning point that determines a company's research direction and the speed of commercialization of its pipeline.