[Young journalist Sihyun Oh] American pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company recorded an “earnings surprise” due to a sharp increase in demand for obesity treatments. Especially as its flagship obesity and diabetes treatments surpassed the world’s top-selling cancer drug, there are assessments that the center of the pharmaceutical market is rapidly shifting. 

Eli Lily stated that its earnings per share (EPS) for the first quarter of this year were 8.26 dollars (12,187.3 won), an increase of 170% compared to the same period last year on the 30th (local time). 

The core driving force was obesity and diabetes treatments, such as tirzepatide. Sales of the diabetes treatment Mounjaro surged 125% year on year to $8.66 billion (12.77783 trillion won), while sales of the obesity treatment Zepbound also increased 80% to $4.16 billion (6.13808 trillion won). Combined sales of the two products exceeded $12.8 billion (18.8864 trillion won), growing by more than double compared to the previous year. 

Especially, it showed a meaningful change on a single product basis. Sales of Mounjaro reached $8.6 billion (12.6893 trillion won), surpassing the world's top-selling cancer drug, Keytruda, which recorded $8.0 billion in sales. 

In the industry, this is being interpreted as a signal that cracks are forming in the blockbuster model centered on cancer drugs.

The gap in growth rates is also clear. While Mounjaro and Zepbound continued high growth, increasing by 125% and 80%, respectively , Keytua remained at a growth rate in the 10% range.  

In the industry, it paid attention to the fact that obesity and metabolic disease treatments have a structurally more advantaged market compared to cancer drugs. This is because the patient population is much larger and the diseases are chronic conditions that allow long-term administration. 

CEO of Eli Lilly, David Ricks, expressed confidence in sustained growth, saying, “The new drug will significantly expand the range of patients who can benefit from GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) treatment.” 

The obesity treatment market is entering a new phase. Until now, the market had a structure centered on injectable treatments led by Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lily’s Zepbound. 

However, recently, as both companies have successively launched oral treatments, the competitive landscape is expanding. Novo Nordisk first introduced a pill-form Wegovy, and Eli Lily also launched the oral treatment Orforglipron, in response. 

In the industry, there are views that “as the market expands from injectable treatments to oral treatments, demand for obesity treatments will become even more explosive.” 

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