EU panel backs Eli Lilly's Foundayo weight-loss tablet for obesity and diabetes

Eli Lilly received a favorable opinion from the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on its oral obesity and type-2 diabetes medication Foundyo, known chemically as orforglipron. The committee’s recommendation now proceeds to the European Commission, which normally issues a final ruling about two months later. The drug, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April after an accelerated review, differs from similar products by not imposing dietary restrictions on patients.

Phase III data showed participants on the top dose lost roughly 11% of body weight over 72 weeks, versus about 2% for placebo recipients. Lilly has begun commercial sales in the United Kingdom, where it was authorized on Aug. 10 and priced between £100 and £120 per month, as well as in the United Arab Emirates, and has filed for approval in roughly 40 additional markets. The company reported $98 million in revenue from Foundyo during the April-June quarter following its U.S. launch.