David Ricks, CEO, Eli Lilly
Scott Mlyn | CNBC
Eli Lilly expects its experimental weight-loss pill to be approved early next year, CEO David Ricks told Bloomberg TV on Monday.
The company will release key research data on the drug orforglipron by the middle of this year.
Eli Lilly is trying to market the pill because it competes Novo Nordisk and smaller rivals for much of the booming weight-loss drug market. Eli Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy dominate the market, but the drugmakers and their competitors have been working to develop improved versions of the drugs.
Pills would be more convenient for patients than the current injectable forms. They would also be easier to produce at a time when Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are struggling to make enough drugs to meet rising demand.
Eli Lilly has said that orforglipron helped patients lose up to 14.7% of their weight in a mid-year study, compared with 2.3% among people taking a placebo.
Shares of Eli Lilly fell less than 1% in afternoon trading Monday.