Milestones
- Phase 3 headline: 12.4% weight lossAug 2025Complete.
- Filed with FDA under a fast-review voucherFeb 2026Complete.
- FDA approval as Foundayo1 Apr 2026Complete.
- US launch; diabetes filingNowCurrent milestone.
Most important updates
- 25d ago
- 10 Aug 2026
- 1 Apr 2026
- Aug 2025
- 17 Apr 2025
Current obstacles
- Less weight loss than shotsAbout 12% average weight loss is below tirzepatide, so it suits milder cases and keeping weight off.
Physics limits
- The body defends its weightAs weight falls, hunger hormones rise and energy use drops, so loss plateaus after about a year. When treatment stops, most people regain much of it: in one trial, about two-thirds within a year.
- Stomach side effects cap the doseThe same gut and brain signals that curb appetite cause nausea and vomiting. Doses must be raised slowly over months, and some people can't tolerate the highest, most effective ones.
- A daily pill gives steadier but lower exposureSmall molecules clear from the body in hours to a day, so levels rise and fall with each pill, and doses are capped by tolerability. So far, average weight loss is lower than with weekly shots.
How it works
Molecule
A small chemical, not a peptide
Unlike semaglutide, orforglipron is a small non-peptide molecule that still switches on the GLP-1 receptor. Stomach acid doesn't destroy it.
Pill
No food or water rules
Because it is absorbed well, it can be taken any time of day, unlike the oral semaglutide pill that needs an empty stomach.
Scale
Made like ordinary pills
Chemical synthesis in standard factories is cheaper and easier to scale than making peptides for injection pens.
Papers & demos
- Sep 2025paperOrforglipron in adults with obesity, ATTAIN-1 (NEJM) (opens doi.org)Phase 3 proof for a GLP-1 pill: 12.4% average weight loss at 72 weeks.
Update log
Tue 15 Sep
- Minor: PressResearch
Mon 10 Aug
- Minor: RegulatorRegulatory
Wed 1 Apr
- Major: PressRegulatory
Aug 2025
- Major: PressTest
Thu 17 Apr 2025
- Major: PressTest
Jun 2023
- Minor: PaperResearch
About Eli Lilly
Eli Lilly
Zepbound, obesity pill, retatrutide
US drugmaker that leads in obesity and diabetes drugs. Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound) is among the world's best-selling drugs, its GLP-1 pill was approved in 2026, and retatrutide gave about 28% weight loss in Phase 3. It bought Verve (gene editing) in 2025.
- Became the first drugmaker worth about $1 trillion (Nov 2025), thanks to tirzepatide.
- Foundayo (orforglipron), a daily GLP-1 pill with no food or water rules, was FDA-approved for obesity on 1 Apr 2026.
- Retatrutide gave 28.3% average weight loss at 80 weeks on the top dose in Phase 3 (May 2026).
- Founded
- 1876150 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Public
- Listed
- LLY (opens google.com)NYSE
- Valuation
- $1.1Tmarket capSep 2026
- Works in
- BiotechObesity & metabolism
- Coverage
- 4 programs · 18 updateslatest 25d agochecked 25 Sep
- People
- David A. Ricks (opens en.wikipedia.org)Chair and CEODaniel SkovronskyChief Scientific Officer