Weekly tracking shows both obesity pills still climbing, with Novo ahead

Both of the country's oral obesity drugs kept growing in early September, according to IQVIA prescription data cited by Wall Street analysts. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy pill and Eli Lilly's Foundayo each posted their highest weekly prescription totals to date, though Novo's pill remains far ahead in raw numbers ^[1].

For the most recent reporting period, the Wegovy pill reached about 183,000 total prescriptions, up from 181,000 the week before, according to IQVIA data cited by Citi ^[1]. Foundayo climbed nearly 8% to reach 47,500 scripts ^[1]. Citi analysts noted that IQVIA may still be undercounting some Foundayo prescriptions written through telehealth channels, meaning the drug's true reach could be somewhat larger than the tracked numbers show ^[1].

The gap between the two pills has been narrowing gradually. An Aug. 28 Jefferies note found that Foundayo made up 21.5% of new prescriptions, which exclude refills, in the oral obesity market ^[1]. Still, Foundayo took about 20 weeks to first top 40,000 weekly scripts, a level the Wegovy pill had already passed by its sixth week on the market ^[1]. That head start dates back to January, when the Wegovy pill launched roughly three months ahead of Foundayo ^[1].

Zooming out to the entire GLP-1 class, total prescriptions across obesity and diabetes uses grew 5.4% over the last four weeks, a sharp reversal from a 6.8% decline over the same period a year earlier ^[1]. Citi analysts attributed that 12-percentage-point swing largely to the expansion of oral GLP-1 options, which appears to be drawing new patients into the category and broadening access ^[1]. Lilly's tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, now holds nearly 57% of the total GLP-1 market, up from about 49.5% a year ago, while Novo's semaglutide share has stayed roughly flat at 37% ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For people weighing an oral GLP-1 instead of a weekly injection, the growing prescription numbers suggest both pills are becoming more mainstream options rather than niche launches. The steady rise in overall GLP-1 use also points to expanding insurance coverage and access, which the Citi analysts linked directly to the arrival of pill forms of these drugs ^[1]. That could mean more pharmacies stocking the medications and more prescribers familiar with them, though the sources do not detail specific coverage changes for individual insurance plans.

The fact that Foundayo's official prescription counts may be missing telehealth-based scripts is also worth noting for patients who get their prescriptions through online health services rather than traditional pharmacies ^[1]. It means the tracked numbers could understate how many people are actually using the drug, and comparisons between the two pills should be read with that caveat in mind.

The wide market-share gap between tirzepatide and semaglutide overall, at 57% versus 37%, reflects patterns already established by the injectable versions of these drugs, not just the new pills ^[1]. Patients choosing between brands may want to know that this broader competitive landscape has been fairly stable even as the oral market shifts week to week.

What happens next

Fierce Pharma has been updating this prescription tracker weekly since the pills launched, drawing on IQVIA data cited by firms including Citi and Jefferies ^[1]. Continued weekly updates are expected to show whether Foundayo keeps closing the gap with the Wegovy pill, and whether the overall GLP-1 market's recent growth trend continues or reverses, as it did in prior years ^[1].