Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, Mounjaro in short supply through June, FDA says

Most doses of Elie LillyThe wildly popular weight loss drug Zepbound and its diabetes counterpart Mounjaro will be in shortage until the second quarter of this year as demand increases, according to an update Wednesday from the drug shortage database. the Food and Drug Administration.

All doses of Zepbound and Mounjaro, besides the 2.5 milligram versions of both treatments, are in short supply. A previous update indicated that some doses of both drugs would be available on a limited basis through April.

The new update suggests that insatiable demand for a popular class of weight loss and diabetes drugs continues to strain supply, even as Eli Lilly and its main rival Novo Nordisk work to increase production of these treatments.

Many patients have difficulty finding injectable treatments, the demand for which has exploded to help them lose weight over time. These treatments are sometimes known as incretin medications, which mimic gut hormones to suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar.

“We recognize that this situation may disrupt patients’ treatment regimens and we
working with determination and urgency to help meet increased demand,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson said in a statement to CNBC. The company expects its investments in manufacturing and supply capacity to “gradually increase production of our medicines throughout 2024 and beyond,” they added.

Eli Lilly said in February it had met its goal of doubling production capacity for these incretin drugs by the end of 2023. The company said it would increase production with “the same urgency” this year , with the most significant increases occurring during the second half of the year. the year.

At this point in the year, the company expects its production of salable doses of incretin drugs to be at least 1.5 times what it was in the second half of 2023.

Eli Lilly also said a new factory in Concord, North Carolina, will begin producing incretin drugs as soon as the end of the year, with products expected to ship in 2025. The company will also build a handle other installations during the year. in the coming years, including a site in Germany and two new factories in its home state of Indiana.

Novo Nordisk announced similar efforts. Some doses of Novo Nordisk’s weight loss drug Wegovy and its diabetes counterpart Ozempic are also in short supply, according to the FDA website.