Jim Cramer says Eli Lilly’s obesity pill could be more of a ‘lifetime drug’ than shots
Don’t count out Eli Lilly’s oral GLP-1 drug for obesity and diabetes just yet, according to CNBC’s Jim Cramer . That was his takeaway following the latest study involving Lilly’s orforglipron, the experimental pill that has been the subject of Wall Street debate since weight-loss data released in early August came in below investor expectations. The stock tumbled 14% in a single day as investors feared that their expectations for orforglipron sales in the coming years were too optimistic. Lilly shares have fought their way back from that plunge — even before new data on Wednesday showed that orforglipron outperformed rival Novo Nordisk ‘s own oral GLP-1 in lowering blood-sugar levels for Type 2 diabetes patients in a 52-week study. The blockbuster GLP-1 market is currently dominated by weekly injectables from Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Speaking on CNBC’s ” Squawk on the Street ,” Cramer suggested Wednesday’s results bolstered the appeal of orforglipron, which is taken once a day. “Persistence is the enemy of these right now. People drop out … because of the injectable. Injectables are feared in this country,” said Cramer, whose Charitable Trust, the portfolio used by the CNBC Investing Club, has long owned shares of Lilly. These drugs mimic a gut hormone, known as GLP-1, that helps them regulate blood sugar and effectively suppresses appetite, leading to weight loss. That makes them useful for treating both Type 2 diabetes and obesity. The obesity treatment opportunity, in particular, has excited Wall Street, leading to analyst forecasts that the market could be worth more than $100 billion by 2030. The injectable versions of GLP-1s have faced supply constraints given the complexities of manufacturing them. They also require cold storage. Neither of those obstacles to distribution applies to Lilly’s pill. “A pill is something that is a terrific thing because you don’t have to keep it in a refrigerator; the refrigerator is messy. The fact that they could, maybe, have a pill that does even more will make it so this is more of a lifetime drug,” Cramer said. That’s what they’ve been looking for.”
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