The US regulators gave the company producing the generic drug Zepbound, a weight loss drug from eli lilly and co. $Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.US)$A heavy blow.

On Thursday, October 3, Eastern Time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the usa announced that due to increasing demand, there has been a consistent shortage of the GLP-1 injectable drug containing the active ingredient Tirzepatide under eli lilly since 2022. The FDA has now confirmed that the shortage issue of such drugs has been resolved. FDA assured eli lilly that its product supply and production capacity can meet the current and future anticipated nationwide demand in the usa. As products flow from manufacturers and distributors to local pharmacies, patients and prescription drug ordering personnel may still encounter intermittent local supply interruptions.

Following this announcement, the FDA removed two eli lilly drugs from the updated drug shortage list that had been listed for nearly two years: the weight-loss drug Zepbound with the main component of Tirzepatide, and the first FDA-approved GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist diabetes drug, Mounjaro.

After the FDA announcement, eli lilly's stock price fell on Thursday, dropping over 1.1% from the daily low, while the stock price of Hims & Hers Health Inc., a telemedicine company, tumbled far more than eli lilly, plunging 15.3% to a daily low. Eventually, eli lilly closed down approximately 0.6%, Hims & Hers dropped 9.6%, and novo-nordisk a/s, a danish company and major competitor of eli lilly in the weight-loss drug sector listed on the New York Stock Exchange, dropped 1.2%.

Following the FDA announcement, Patrik Jonsson, the Executive Vice President of eli lilly, stated that the company has invested 'a significant amount of funds' to expand the production of GLP-1 drugs, introducing new options to the market. Some media reports citing Jonsson's comments indicated that the reversal of the shortage situation reflects eli lilly's dedication to providing a steady supply of genuine and safe medicines.

The CEO of Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding, an industry organization that aims to give voice to pharmacists, technicians, patients, and suppliers, Scott Brunner, commented that the FDA's termination of the shortage designation of Eli Lilly's GLP-1 related drugs could cause trouble for consumers taking non-brand complex exenatide drugs. "They have been completely cut off from access, their prescriptions can no longer be compounded," pharmacies will "have to immediately cease compounding and distributing generic versions of Mounjaro and Zepbound."

Eli Lilly and novo-nordisk a/s have been engaged in fierce competition in the generic GLP-1 drug market. The media pointed out that Eli Lilly's representative lawyers issued warnings to prescription drug providers in August this year, demanding them to stop selling generics.

Some media mentioned that experts estimate there are hundreds of thousands of Americans using generic versions of weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly and novo-nordisk a/s. Investment bankers collaborating with this industry revealed that the manufacturers of such complex drugs earn up to 1 billion USD in revenue annually.

Wall Street News has mentioned that in May of this year, Hims & Hers introduced its weight loss injection for only $199 per month, challenging the expensive weight-loss drugs on the market that cost as much as $1350 per month. Each injection is 85% cheaper than novo-nordisk a/s's Semaglutide (Wegovy) and Eli Lilly's exenatide. Hims & Hers’ CEO Dudum stated that the company expects the revenue of their weight loss products to exceed 0.1 billion USD by the end of 2025.

Even major pharmaceutical companies are experiencing 'conflict within.' At the end of August, to address supply shortages, Eli Lilly began selling small bottles of Zepbound at half price, with a monthly price of $399, half the price of the injections, while the higher-dose version is priced at $549.

Editor/Lambor