US regulators on Wednesday approved Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 pill for sale in the country, opening up a new phase in weight-loss medication.
The drug, which will be sold under the brand name Foundayo, will compete with the pill version of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, approved in December. But Lilly’s pill is cheaper to manufacture and more convenient to consume, Vox noted.
It is similar in form to statins or blood-pressure medications — unlike Wegovy’s, which is a peptide — which could make it more appealing to consumers looking to lose weight.
The oral medications mark the next battleground for the multibillion-dollar GLP-1 industry; the treatments have traditionally required injections.
