What happened
Medicare's July policy shift opened the door for seniors to start GLP-1 weight loss treatments, and uptake has been fast. On Monday, Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said on CNBC that 700,000 newly enrolled seniors have initiated therapy as a result of the policy shift.
Which drugs seniors can get
Coverage runs through a temporary program called Bridge that lets eligible beneficiaries obtain weight loss medicines with a $50 monthly co-pay. Under Bridge, seniors can access Lilly's blockbuster injection Zepbound and its newly launched obesity pill, Foundayo, alongside Novo Nordisk's competing Wegovy pill and the Wegovy injection. Foundayo hit the market in April a few months after Novo's oral product.
What Lilly is seeing
By Lilly's count, it is winning most of the new business. "We're capturing about seven out of 10 of those new patients, and a lot are still on Zepbound," Ricks said, adding, "I think we still see physicians focusing on those with the most body weight and the most complications. That's where Zepbound plays a big role." Foundayo is showing up more with people who want a convenient pill and "maybe just need to lose 25 to 30 pounds," he said. On the oral side, Ricks told CNBC that roughly one third of new GLP-1 pill starts are choosing Foundayo.
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What this means for your portfolio
Smooth implementation matters for adoption, and Ricks said he has not heard of many logistical snags. He praised the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, saying they "did a nice job rolling this out," including educating doctors and coordinating with companies and the insurance system. For investors watching healthcare exposure, the early traction under Bridge, the $50 co-pay, and which products seniors prefer are real data points to track as Medicare's roughly 66 million beneficiaries weigh their options.
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