Eli Lilly builds $1.5 billion stockpile of weight-loss pill ahead of FDA decision

Eli Lilly had $1.5 billion worth of pre-launch inventory of its experimental oral weight-loss drug, a filing showed on Thursday, ahead of an expected decision by the US Food and Drug Administration in April.

Last year, the company had said it had nearly $550 million in pre-launch inventory for the pill, orforglipron.

Lilly has previously said it would have plenty of supply to launch the much-anticipated weight-loss pill in several countries nearly simultaneously if the pill wins US approval.

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Danish rival Novo Nordisk launched its once-daily weight-loss pill in the US earlier this month, with prescriptions hitting more than 26,000 in the second full week after launch, IQVIA data shared by an analyst showed.

Orforglipron won a fast-track review voucher from the FDA that could cut review times to as little as one to two months, from the typical 10 to 12 months for most new medicines.

Most drugmakers include such inventories, or assets, in their financial statements to show how much drug product has been manufactured right before approval.