Saturday, February 28

Eli Lilly’s Oral GLP‑1 Win And Olumiant Update Reshape Growth Story


Find your next quality investment with Simply Wall St’s easy and powerful screener, trusted by over 7 million individual investors worldwide.

  • Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) reported Phase 3 data showing its oral GLP-1 candidate, orforglipron, produced greater blood sugar and weight reduction in adults with type 2 diabetes than Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide.

  • The company has submitted regulatory filings for orforglipron in more than 40 countries, including for obesity, with potential US approval cited for Q2 2026.

  • Lilly and Incyte received a positive opinion from the EMA’s CHMP for Olumiant to treat adolescents with severe alopecia areata in Europe.

For investors following NYSE:LLY, these updates sit at the heart of two large treatment areas, metabolic disease and autoimmune conditions. Oral GLP-1 drugs are drawing growing attention because they aim to bring some of the benefits of injectable therapies to a more convenient pill format, while alopecia areata remains an area with meaningful unmet medical need, especially for younger patients.

The head-to-head win for orforglipron against a key rival and the broad set of regulatory filings indicate that Lilly is pursuing multiple markets at the same time. Progress for Olumiant in adolescent alopecia areata may also be relevant for investors who track how additional indications could influence the company’s immunology portfolio and overall revenue mix.

Stay updated on the most important news stories for Eli Lilly by adding it to your watchlist or portfolio. Alternatively, explore our Community to discover new perspectives on Eli Lilly.

NYSE:LLY Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Feb 2026
NYSE:LLY Earnings & Revenue Growth as at Feb 2026

3 things going right for Eli Lilly that this headline doesn’t cover.

Eli Lilly’s head-to-head Phase 3 win for orforglipron versus Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide puts more weight behind its push into oral GLP-1s, an area that could be important as payers and patients look for alternatives to injectables. Superior reductions in blood sugar and body weight, along with global filings in more than 40 countries, position orforglipron as a key follow-on to injectable GLP-1s from Lilly and rivals such as Novo Nordisk and, to a lesser extent, Pfizer in cardiometabolic care. On the immunology side, the positive CHMP opinion for Olumiant in adolescent alopecia areata extends an existing JAK inhibitor brand into a younger population within Europe, building on approvals already in adult severe alopecia areata and other autoimmune conditions.

  • The orforglipron data and broad filings directly support the narrative that GLP-1 obesity and diabetes treatments are a key earnings driver, adding an oral option on top of injectable therapies like Zepbound and Mounjaro.

  • Relying on another high-profile GLP-1, with higher side effect related discontinuations cited in the trial summary, also reinforces concerns in the narrative about concentration in a few blockbuster drugs and clinical risk in late-stage programs.

  • The adolescent Olumiant opportunity in alopecia areata, and its broader autoimmune use, adds detail that is not fully captured in a story mostly centered on cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative drugs, and highlights additional diversity in Lilly’s portfolio relative to peers such as Novo Nordisk and Merck.

Knowing what a company is worth starts with understanding its story. Check out one of the top narratives in the Simply Wall St Community for Eli Lilly to help decide what it’s worth to you.

  • ⚠️ Analysts have flagged that Lilly relies heavily on a narrow set of GLP-1 and related obesity products, so setbacks for orforglipron or pricing pressure from rivals such as Novo Nordisk could have an outsized effect.

  • ⚠️ Orforglipron’s higher rate of side effect driven discontinuations, plus the boxed warning on Olumiant for serious safety issues, underline the clinical and safety risks that can impact real world uptake and regulator or payer decisions.

  • 🎁 The head-to-head Phase 3 outperformance of orforglipron over oral semaglutide supports the reward case that Lilly can maintain a strong position in GLP-1s across injectable and oral formats.

  • 🎁 The CHMP’s positive opinion on Olumiant for adolescents adds a new potential indication within immunology, which can help balance Lilly’s earnings mix beyond obesity and diabetes therapies.

From here, investors may want to watch three things closely. First, how regulators in the US and key ex-US markets respond to orforglipron filings, and whether labels or risk management plans limit its use versus injectable GLP-1s. Second, pricing and reimbursement decisions for an oral GLP-1 in a market where Novo Nordisk is already talking about list price cuts for some products, which could influence net pricing and formulary access. Third, the European Commission’s final decision on Olumiant in adolescent alopecia areata, along with any updates on US review timelines, to gauge how much incremental contribution this and other immunology indications could provide relative to cardiometabolic products.

To ensure you’re always in the loop on how the latest news impacts the investment narrative for Eli Lilly, head to the community page for Eli Lilly to never miss an update on the top community narratives.

This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

Companies discussed in this article include LLY.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com



Source link

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *