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Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound)Eli Lilly—VERVE-102 (PCSK9 base editor)Eli Lilly—RetatrutideEli Lilly—Orforglipron (Foundayo)Eli Lilly—RetatrutideEli Lilly—Orforglipron (Foundayo)Eli Lilly—Eli Lilly—Orforglipron (Foundayo)Eli Lilly—RetatrutideEli Lilly—

Eli Lilly

Zepbound, obesity pill, retatrutide

US$1.1T market capest. 1876lilly.com (opens lilly.com)Checked 25 Sep

The brief

Analyst view
  • 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).

Technical approach

As reported
Incretins

Copying gut hormones

GLP-1 and GIP are hormones released after meals. Long-lasting copies slow the stomach, help insulin work and tell the brain you're full.

Dual/triple

Hitting more hormone signals

Tirzepatide hits two hormone signals; retatrutide adds a third (glucagon), which burns more energy and liver fat, for bigger weight loss.

Oral

A GLP-1 pill

Orforglipron is a small chemical, not a protein, so it survives the stomach and is made like a normal pill, cheaply and at scale.

Editing

One-time cholesterol edit

Through Verve, Lilly tests a base editor that switches off the PCSK9 gene in the liver to lower LDL cholesterol with one treatment.

Programs

Eli Lilly, four programs

Updated 25d ago
Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound)A weekly injection that mimics two gut hormones (GIP and GLP-1). It lowers blood sugar and gives about 15–21% weight loss in trials, more than Wegovy head-to-head.ScalingNextHeart-outcome results and new usesUpdated 28 Aug 2026View program →Orforglipron (Foundayo)A once-daily GLP-1 pill that needs no food or water timing, designed to be cheaper and easier to make worldwide than injections.ScalingNextUS launch; diabetes filingUpdated 25d agoView program →RetatrutideA weekly shot that mimics three hormones (GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon). The glucagon part burns more energy and liver fat, giving the biggest Phase 3 weight loss yet.DeployNextFiling for obesity approvalUpdated 25d agoView program →VERVE-102 (PCSK9 base editor)Fat bubbles carry a base editor to the liver to switch off the PCSK9 gene for good, aiming to lower LDL cholesterol for life with one drip. Made by Verve, now part of Lilly.ProtoNextLarger dosing and Phase 2 plansUpdated 25 May 2026View program →
Research · Proto · Pilot · Deploy · Scaling

Research & demos

3 items

Open technical problems

Open · Active · Partial
  • Losing muscle, not just fatActive research

    Part of the weight lost is muscle; whether that matters, and how to keep muscle, is being studied.

  • Weight comes back after stoppingOpen

    Most weight returns when people stop, so these are lifelong drugs; cheaper pills for maintenance are one answer.

  • Making enoughPartially solved

    Injections and pens needed multi-billion-dollar factories; 2022–2024 shortages led to copycat versions.

Peers

Obesity & metabolism · 1

Company & funding

Valuation
$1.1Tmarket cap
HQ
US
Founded
1876

Partners & customers

1 supplier · 2 partners

People

Key people
Primer