Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mounjaro Topples Keytruda As The World's Best-Selling Medication
Eli Lilly & Co.’s blockbuster diabetes drug Mounjaro has surpassed Merck & Co.’s cancer therapy Keytruda as the world’s best-selling medication. Mounjaro generated $8.7 billion for Lilly in the first quarter of 2026, outperforming Merck’s Keytruda, which posted sales of $7.9 billion. Keytruda has been the world’s top-selling drug since the first quarter of 2023, when it displaced AbbVie Inc.’s autoimmune disorder drug Humira. (Inampudi, 5/6)
As the weight-loss category grows more competitive, obesity-leader Eli Lilly has started to look a bit richly valued to some investors. Prices for weight-loss drugs have been falling, and early scripts for Lilly’s new pill, Foundayo, didn’t suggest it was off to a rousing start in the U.S. That is why, leading up to last week’s earnings, the stock fell sharply—a rare moment of investor doubt for a company that hit a $1 trillion market capitalization just last fall. (Wainer, 5/7)
More news about diabetes and weight loss drugs —
Sanofi has asked the Food and Drug Administration to pull its type 1 diabetes drug, teplizumab, out of Commissioner Marty Makary’s new speedy drug review program. (Lawrence, 5/6)
An international online platform settled with the Connecticut attorney general's office Wednesday and agreed to stop selling GLP-1Â weight-loss medications to customers in the United States, according to a press release from the attorney general's office. The platform, called Made-in-China, had sold so-called "research grade"Â GLP-1 drugs without prescriptions or any medical oversight, which are not approved for human use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to consumers without prescriptions, according to the press release. (Katersky and Yu, 5/6)
Everything you should know about the new GLP 1 pills, including if they work, how much they cost, side effects & more, according to a doctor. (Jay, 5/5)