Eli Lilly's Zepbound rises while Novo Nordisk's Ozempic levels off

Eli Lilly may eventually catch up to Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk when it comes to selling the weight loss drugs that have boomed in popularity in recent years.

Eli Lilly reported on Thursday that sales for Zepbound, which it has only sold for less than a year, reached $1.2 billion, crushing Wall Street estimated. Mounjaro, a similar drug, reached $3.1 billion in sales, making the biggest money-maker on Eli Lilly's portfolio.

As of this quarter three of the four most lucrative drugs Eli Lilly sells are diabetes medications also used for weight loss. (The other is Verzenio, which treats breast cancer.)

Novo Nordisk on Wednesday reported a disappointing quarter for the first time since the boom in obesity medications. Sales for its weight loss drugs — Ozempic and Wegovy — missed expectations and appear to be leveling off.

Demand for weight loss drugs has led both companies to up production to avoid shortages. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have each spent billions to increase production of their obesity drugs.

Earlier this year there were shortages of Ozempic, Novo Nordisk's best-selling drug that kicked off the weight loss drug craze. Those shortages have cleared up but it appears to have limited its growth this year.

Shortages remain for Wegovy, according to a database from the Food and Drug Administration. As of this month none of Eli Lilly's weight loss drugs are facing a shortage.

While Eli Lilly's weight loss drugs had a better quarter than Novo Nordisk's, the latter had a head start in the obesity drug race and is well ahead.

Novo Nordisk's Ozempic made $30 billion this past quarter, compared to $3.1 billion from Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. Ozempic makes up almost half of the market share for that category of weight loss drugs, according to Novo Nordisk.