Eli Lilly launches weight loss drug delivery service, warns against taking medication for beauty, stock price reaches a new all-time high.
Eli Lilly announced on Thursday the launch of a digital healthcare platform for selected medications, including home-delivered weight loss drugs. This news caused the company's stock price to rise more than 2%, reaching a new all-time high during trading. However, Eli Lilly also cautioned consumers that their popular diabetes and obesity medications, Mounjaro and Zepbound, should not be used for "cosmetic weight loss." Excessive demand for these drugs may prevent diabetes patients from accessing them.
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Eli Lilly announced on Thursday the launch of a digital healthcare platform for home delivery of selected medications, including weight loss drugs. This news caused the company's stock price to rise by over 2%, reaching a new all-time high during trading. However, Eli Lilly also issued a warning to consumers that their popular diabetes and obesity drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, should not be used for "cosmetic weight loss" as there has been a significant increase in off-label use of these drugs, potentially leading to supply shortages.
On Thursday, Eli Lilly announced the launch of LillyDirect, a digital healthcare platform for home delivery of medications targeting obesity, migraines, and diabetes patients. This announcement initially caused the company's stock price to rise by over 2.2%, breaking through the previous high of $629.97 on October 13, 2023, and reaching above $631 during trading, before narrowing to around 0.6% gain.
Among online pharmacy concept stocks, WW (formerly Weight Watchers) experienced a decline of over 16.36%, marking the largest intraday drop since September 21, 2023. LifeMD also fell by 33%, representing the largest intraday decline since August 2020.
However, in a statement released on Thursday morning, Eli Lilly warned consumers that their highly sought-after drugs, Mounjaro and Zepbound, are intended for the treatment of serious illnesses and should not be used for cosmetic weight loss. The company stated that these drugs have not been approved for weight loss and should not be used by patients who have not been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or obesity. Previously, weight loss drugs gained popularity on the social media platform TikTok, and Elon Musk also claimed that Eli Lilly's competitor, Novo Nordisk A/S, and their products Ozempic and Wegovy, have similar effects. The surge in demand has led to supply issues, affecting the availability of medications for diabetes patients.
However, Eli Lilly did not provide specific solutions to address the issue of off-label use of these drugs. The company also expressed concerns about some unapproved generic drugs, as some have been found to contain impurities. Eli Lilly has previously filed lawsuits against several companies selling unapproved generic drugs.