Lilly (LLY.US) CEO: Oral weight loss drug anticipated to gain approval by early next year.

David Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly (LLY.US), stated on Monday that the company anticipates its experimental oral weight loss medication to be approved as early as next year. Lilly will release crucial late-stage trial data for the oral drug, orforglipron, in the middle of this year. At present, Eli Lilly is working diligently to bring the pill to market to compete for a significant share of the booming weight loss drug market with Novo Nordisk (NVO.US) and other smaller competitors. Lilly's Zepbon and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy dominate the field, but pharmaceutical companies and their rivals are continuously striving to develop improved versions of these drugs. Oral medications are more convenient for patients to take than the current injectable form, and also easier to produce as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk struggle to produce enough drugs to meet surging demand. Lilly reported in a mid-stage trial that orforglipron helped patients lose 14.7% of their weight, compared with 2.3% for patients taking a placebo.