Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy head start on pills forces investors to rethink Eli Lilly's GLP-1 dominance

In this article

When the Wegovy pill launched in January, telehealth provider LifeMD said its business doubled almost overnight.

LifeMD went from seeing between 300 and 400 new patients a day to 600 to 1,000 new patients a day, said CEO Justin Schreiber. He knew there would be demand, but that level of interest surprised him.

“There’s no question that the launch of oral medications has improved access,” Schreiber said.

Tens of thousands of people have started taking Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill in the four months since it launched in the U.S., the majority of them new to the GLP-1 category. Investors will get a fresh look at the Wegovy pill’s momentum when Novo reports first-quarter results on Wednesday.