Eli Lilly bets billions on expanding GLP-1 drug success beyond weight loss
Business · 15 October 2026
Written by AI from multiple news reports
Eli Lilly has become the first pharmaceutical company worth $1 trillion, built largely on its GLP-1 weight loss drugs. The company now wants to use what it has learned to develop treatments for other diseases.
One key part of its strategy is selling directly to patients. Through its platform LillyDirect, customers can buy drugs online and pay out of pocket. In August 2024, Lilly cut the price of its Zepbound vials by half, to around $399 per month. These vials quickly became the top-selling product on the platform.
Lilly is also investing heavily in technology. It has partnered with Nvidia to build a supercomputer that can process biological data to find new drugs faster. The two companies are also building a $1 billion research lab in San Francisco.