This week's biggest GLP-1 story remains the early-April FDA approval of Eli Lilly's oral orforglipron (Foundayo), which began shipping on April 6 and is now widely available — with new pricing details, early prescription data from rival Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy, and fresh genetic research rounding out an active fortnight for the class.
FDA Approves Eli Lilly's Foundayo (Orforglipron)
The FDA approved Foundayo (orforglipron) as an oral GLP-1 receptor partial agonist pill that does not need to be taken on an empty stomach, making it the first small-molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist to secure approval, offering a potential convenience edge over established peptidic GLP-1-based obesity drugs. The FDA reviewed the Foundayo application in just 50 days under a Commissioner's National Priority Voucher pilot program, making it the fastest approval of a new molecular entity since 2002; typically, new drug approvals take at least six to ten months.
Foundayo Pricing and Access
Eligible people with commercial insurance may pay as little as $25 per month with the Foundayo savings card, while individuals opting for self-pay can access Foundayo starting at $149 per month for the lowest dose. Seniors on Medicare will be able to access Foundayo and other GLP-1 obesity medicines for $50 a month starting this summer as part of Lilly and Novo's deals with the Trump administration. The new pill joins Novo Nordisk's oral Wegovy pill, which has spurred more than 600,000 prescriptions in the United States since it was approved in December.
Novo Nordisk + OpenAI Partnership & Pipeline
Novo Nordisk announced a partnership with OpenAI that will allow the company to apply advanced AI to analyse complex datasets, identify potential drugs, and cut the time between research and patient access. Novo Nordisk also has a deep pipeline in weight management, including amycretin — a dual GLP-1/amylin agonist currently undergoing Phase 3 studies in oral and subcutaneous formulations. Aside from its oral Wegovy approval, Novo last month also won an FDA nod for a high-dose, 7.2-mg format of injectable Wegovy, which the company hopes can help patients achieve superior weight loss.
Notable New Research: GLP-1 Resistance Gene
Stanford Medicine researchers discovered genetic variants in roughly 10% of people that reduce the effectiveness of GLP-1 diabetes drugs in regulating blood sugar; the decade-long international study analyzed clinical trials showing variant carriers achieved lower blood sugar control rates compared to non-carriers after treatment. The findings could advance precision medicine by identifying patients unlikely to respond to GLP-1 drugs, helping doctors prescribe appropriate diabetes medications faster. It is not yet clear whether the variants affect weight loss from these drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which are increasingly prescribed to treat obesity and are typically taken at higher doses for weight loss than for diabetes.
Medicare & Insurance Coverage Landscape
Copays for Medicare enrollees who use injectable Mounjaro, Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, or the Wegovy pill will be around $50 a month after any deductibles, according to CMS. Medicare Part D plans may cover Ozempic when it is prescribed for Type 2 diabetes and listed on a plan's formulary; it is not covered for weight loss. CMS proposed a rule change in late 2024 that would have allowed Medicare Part D to cover weight-loss drugs starting with plan year 2026, but when the final rule was published in April 2025, CMS opted not to finalize that portion of the proposed rule.