--- title: "Eli Lilly Has a Major Problem With Its Weight Loss Drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro" description: "Eli Lilly, the maker of the popular weight loss drug Zepbound, revealed a \"shocking first miss\" during its most recent quarterly sales." date: "2024-11-02" modified: "2024-11-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/eli-lilly-major-problem-weight-loss-drugs" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "eli lilly" - "novo nordisk" - "ozempic" - "semaglutide" - "tirzepatide" - "weight loss drugs" --- # Eli Lilly Has a Major Problem With Its Weight Loss Drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro ![Eli Lilly, the maker of the popular weight loss drug Zepbound, revealed a "shocking first miss" during its most recent quarterly sales.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Eli Lilly, the maker of the popular weight loss drug Zepbound, revealed what [*Bloomberg* called]() a "shocking first miss" in its most recent quarterly sales announcement: in spite of bottomless hype, there just aren't enough people getting on its new weight loss drugs. Shares plummeted by almost eight percent on Wednesday, with Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro — the active ingredient in both is tirzepatide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist — missing Wall Street estimates by almost $900 million in sales. That's despite the [astronomical fanfare]() around weight loss drugs like Zepbound and its competitors, like Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy. The drugs are a smashing success, both in terms of [health]() [outcomes]() and [market penetration]() — but somehow that's not quite enough for the yawning expectations of capitalism. Eli Lilly pointed the finger at inventory troubles, an excuse that didn't sit well with analysts. "Few expected a miss to this extent," financial group Mizuho's Jared Holz told *Bloomberg*. "With demand so elevated for these drugs, the destocking does come as a surprise," he added, referring to a situation when wholesalers rely on previously bought inventory instead of buying new stock. In other words, could this be a sign that the seemingly insatiable demand for popular weight loss drugs could be starting to wane? Unsurprisingly, Eli Lilly CFO Lucas Montarce tried to reassure investors, saying he didn't expect any more "big swings" in inventory going forward. The company's competitors have been struggling with a similar problem. For instance, Novo Nordisk was forced to [cut its annual profit expectations]() back in August following weaker-than-expected sales of its weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, which both use a different GLP-1 agonist drug called semaglutide. Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told investors during a call following the announcement that there wasn't a "demand problem here," but revealed that the company would start marketing Zepbound specifically directly to consumers, according to *Bloomberg*. Meanwhile, supply shortages of weight-loss drugs like Zepbound and Ozempic have led to a [surge in knockoff "compounder" drugs being sold](), particularly online. Naturally, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have tried to discredit these companies, warning that their offerings [contained impurities and were contaminated by bacteria](). In spite of growing pains, though, the overall trajectory for sellers of GLP-1 drugs is still promising; overall, Eli Lilly's shares are up well over 50 percent since the beginning of the year. **More on weight loss drugs:** *[Patients Taking Ozempic Are Up to 70 Percent Less Likely to Develop Alzheimer’s, Research Finds]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()