About 700,000 American seniors have started on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs since Medicare began covering them on 1 July, Eli Lilly chief executive David Ricks said on Monday, and roughly 70% of those new patients are taking Lilly medicines.
Ricks, who chairs and runs the Indianapolis drugmaker, gave the figures in an interview with CNBC on 21 September, the clearest read yet on take-up. He called the rollout 'very encouraging' and said it was pulling in people who had never taken the medicines, not just shifting existing users onto a cheaper deal. 'It's very market expansionary, which is what we had hoped,' he said.
