Wegovy pill and Foundayo set weekly prescription records, IQVIA data show

Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill and Eli Lilly's Foundayo each set a weekly prescription record in the latest IQVIA data cited by Citi, with the Wegovy pill at roughly 181,000 total prescriptions and Foundayo at about 44,000 for the week reported September 4 ^[1][2]. The Wegovy pill, oral semaglutide, rose about 3% from the prior week, while Foundayo, orforglipron, rose about 8% ^[1][2]. Citi said both were the highest weekly totals for either product so far ^[1][2].

The wider GLP-1 market is growing again. Over the most recent four weeks, total prescriptions across obesity and diabetes uses rose 5.4%, compared with a 6.8% decline in the same period a year earlier, according to Citi. The analysts credited the roughly 12-percentage-point swing to the oral launches, which they said appear to be broadening access to the drug class and drawing in new patients ^[1].

Foundayo's share of new prescriptions — which exclude refills — was 21.5% of the oral obesity market, according to an August 28 Jefferies note based on data from the prior week. Foundayo trails the Wegovy pill, but the market share gap between the two oral drugs has been narrowing ^[1][2].

Within its own franchise, the Wegovy pill held a steady 35% of all Wegovy prescriptions, as total Wegovy scripts rose 2.7% from the prior week to 513,500. Eli Lilly's Zepbound, an injected tirzepatide product, climbed 1.6% to just under 772,000 scripts ^[1][2].

Two caveats attach to the numbers. Citi has said IQVIA may be missing some Foundayo prescriptions filled through telehealth channels, meaning the reported count could understate demand for that drug ^[1]. Separately, one tracker page carries a September 11 update listing about 183,000 Wegovy pill prescriptions and 47,500 for Foundayo. Those figures are higher than the September 4 update, and they do not appear in the other report of the same data ^[1][2].

The September 4 update followed a slower stretch for Foundayo. It took 20 weeks for the drug to pass 40,000 weekly prescriptions, after hovering near 20,000 for about a month early in its launch ^[1]. Lilly reported $98 million in second-quarter Foundayo sales, including $67 million in the U.S., a result that disappointed some analysts ^[1]. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program went live July 1, offering coverage for certain weight-loss medicines, including Foundayo, at a $50 monthly copayment, and Lilly began broad direct-to-consumer marketing after securing commercial access with the three major pharmacy benefit managers in June ^[1]. CVS, the last of the three to cover Foundayo, started June 1 ^[1]. The Wegovy pill launched in January ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For most of the past year, the total number of GLP-1 prescriptions was shrinking. It is now growing, and Citi attributes that change to the arrival of oral versions ^[1]. That means the market these drugs compete in is getting larger rather than just shifting between brands.

Patients who prefer a pill to an injection now have two oral products with recorded weekly volumes: the Wegovy pill, which is well ahead, and Foundayo, which is still building. Foundayo's 21.5% share of new oral prescriptions indicates it is picking up new starts at a meaningful rate even though its total volume is roughly a quarter of the Wegovy pill's ^[1][2].

Coverage remains part of the picture. Foundayo launched without full access across the largest pharmacy benefit managers and gained it over the spring, while the Wegovy pill had broad coverage from its first week ^[1]. The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program, which began July 1, covers some weight-loss medicines including Foundayo for a $50 monthly copayment ^[1].

The prescription counts published each week are not a complete measure of use. IQVIA may not capture all telehealth prescriptions, particularly for Foundayo, so the true volume has not been fully disclosed ^[1]. How much of Foundayo's recent growth reflects real demand versus better data capture in telehealth channels also has not been established ^[1].