Lilly starts selling Foundayo, its oral GLP-1 pill, in Israel

Eli Lilly has started selling Foundayo, its once-daily oral GLP-1 pill, in Israel, making Israel the fourth country where the drug is sold ^[1]. The tablets reach Israeli pharmacies on September 15 and require a doctor's prescription ^[1].

Israeli prices run from 691 shekels a month at the lowest dose to 1,146 shekels at the highest, according to the launch coverage ^[1]. How much the country's health insurance funds will subsidize the pill has not been disclosed ^[1]. Until now it was available in Israel only through private import, which required a prescription and special permission from a health insurance fund ^[1].

The drug, known chemically as orforglipron, is intended in Israel for people with serious obesity or with overweight plus at least one weight-related condition — the same broad group targeted by injectable weight-loss drugs ^[1]. The tablet is taken once a day with no restriction on the time of day, without regard to meals or drinks, and does not need refrigeration ^[1].

According to the Israeli launch report, Foundayo at its highest dose produced 12.4% weight loss, less than injectable weight-loss drugs and less than an oral pill from Novo Nordisk that has not yet reached the market, which showed 14% to 16.6% in clinical trials ^[1]. The report says Lilly's drug also showed a significant reduction in the risk of death from heart disease in patients with diabetes ^[1]. It did not describe how the Novo Nordisk trials were designed or whether the two drugs have been compared directly.

The Israel rollout follows the UK, which became the first country in Europe to sell the pill ^[2]. Britain's medicines regulator authorized Foundayo on August 10, and Lilly launched it there for weight management and type 2 diabetes, available by private prescription ^[2]. It is the second GLP-1 tablet sold in the UK, after Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill ^[2].

In the UK, Foundayo will likely be priced between £100 and £120 ($136 to $164) for a month's supply, below the £330 Lilly charges for a month of its Mounjaro injection, the company said ^[2]. Private providers price the Wegovy pill from £74 to £129 a month for initial low doses, with most starting rates tied to multi-month subscriptions, and prices rising at higher doses ^[2].

In the United States, self-pay prices for the Wegovy pill and Foundayo start at $149 a month and can rise to $299 and $349 respectively at higher doses, and a new Medicare pilot offers selective access to the oral drugs for $50 a month ^[2].

Why it matters for patients

For people in the United States, the Israel launch does not change what Foundayo costs or how it is prescribed; the reported US self-pay range of $149 to $349 a month still applies ^[2]. What the Israeli and UK launches show is how access is being handled market by market, and how much of the cost patients carry themselves.

In Israel, subsidy amounts are unknown, and inclusion in the country's basket of medical services would be decided for 2027 at the earliest ^[1]. In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence must assess Foundayo before it can be prescribed through the state-run National Health Service, so patients currently pay privately ^[2].

An oral option may matter to patients who prefer not to inject. Foundayo can be taken at any time of day without food or drink restrictions and does not need refrigeration ^[1]. Its reported weight-loss result at the top dose, 12.4%, is lower than the injectable drugs and lower than Novo Nordisk's oral candidate, which is not yet marketed ^[1].

What happens next

Foundayo reaches Israeli pharmacies on September 15, 2026 ^[1]. The launch timing lets Lilly apply to have the drug included in Israel's basket of medical services for 2027; subsidy levels have not been reported ^[1].

In the UK, NICE requested more information on Foundayo after its first committee meeting, and no date has been set for a second review ^[2]. Novo Nordisk has not yet made an evidence submission for the Wegovy pill ^[2].

Foundayo remains under review in the European Union ^[2]. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill has received a positive recommendation from the European Medicines Agency, with a final decision from the European Commission still pending ^[2].