Lilly's Foundayo Gains Share as Viking and Roche Reveal Strong Obesity Drug Data

SentiSense · Published Sep 21, 2026, 2:57 PM ET · Updated Sep 28, 2026, 2:45 AM ET

Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said one-third of new GLP-1 pill patients are now taking Foundayo, as Lilly broke ground on a $6.5 billion Houston plant. Viking Therapeutics reported that patients kept 82% to 97% of their VK2735 weight loss on every-other-week or monthly maintenance dosing, and Roche reported 15.5% mean weight loss at 48 weeks for its dual GLP-1/GIP agonist enicepatide in a Phase II type 2 diabetes trial. Both rivals remain years from market, with Phase III readouts expected from 2027.

LLY CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC that one-third of new GLP-1 pill patients are now taking Foundayo, and that Lilly's share of the oral market is growing week over week as it plans more international launches in the coming months. He spoke at the groundbreaking of Lilly's $6.5 billion Generation Park plant in Houston, expected to be operational by 2030, which will make Foundayo's active ingredient among other small-molecule drugs. Foundayo launched in the U.S. in April and booked $98 million in its first quarter on the market; Lilly said in August it held about a 61% share of the overall obesity and diabetes market in the second quarter. The comments came as Novo Nordisk shares fell after its long-term strategy failed to settle investor concerns about competing with Lilly.

Two rivals reported data the same day. VKTX released topline results from its VK2735 maintenance study in 180 adults with obesity: after 21 weeks of weekly injections, weight loss ranged from about 16% to 19%, and 98% of participants lost at least 5% of their body weight. Patients switched to every-other-week dosing kept 83% to 97% of their initial loss, and monthly dosing kept 82% to 90%, versus 61% for those switched to placebo. Viking's two Phase III VANQUISH trials are fully enrolled, with results expected in 2027.

Roche (RHHBY) reported positive Phase II results for enicepatide, a dual GLP-1/GIP agonist, in 447 people with type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. At the top 24 mg dose, mean weight loss at 48 weeks was 15.5% with no plateau, HbA1c fell 2.65%, and 90% of patients reached an HbA1c of 6.5% or lower. Two Phase III weight-management trials are under way, with glycemic-control and cardiovascular outcomes studies planned for the first half of 2027.

The competitive map is widening on two fronts: pills, where Lilly is catching up on Novo's head start, and injectables, where Viking is pitching less frequent dosing and Roche is pitching diabetes control. Neither rival's drug is near market yet, so for now the numbers that move share are Lilly's weekly script trends and its manufacturing ramp.