Eli Lil­ly is rapid­ly ap­proach­ing its Trulic­i­ty dooms­day, but it may have a nice con­so­la­tion prize in tirzepatide

As the hour­glass be­gins to run out on block­buster Trulic­i­ty’s US patent, Eli Lil­ly may find a suc­ces­sor in tirzepatide — its GIP and GLP-1 re­cep­tor ag­o­nist that has turned up yet an­oth­er round of promis­ing da­ta.

Tirzepatide sig­nif­i­cant­ly re­duced the blood sug­ar and body weight of pa­tients with type 2 di­a­betes, ac­cord­ing to topline re­sults from the phar­ma’s Phase III SUR­PASS-1 tri­al. The re­sults build on mid-stage da­ta from 2018 which showed the drug beat out both a place­bo and Trulic­i­ty in terms of blood sug­ar re­duc­tion and weight loss. Lil­ly’s stock $LLY jumped more than 4% on the news Wednes­day morn­ing, with shares pric­ing at $155.74 apiece.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER