Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks told CNBC on Monday that one-third of new patients for GLP-1 tablets are taking the drugmaker’s Foundayo, as the company seeks to catch up to the lead in the field established by competitors. Novo.
He said in an exclusive interview that the company’s share in the oral market is increasing week by week.
Ricks said he is “confident long-term” about Lilly’s position in the pill space, especially as the company plans to launch Foundayo in more international markets in the coming months.
Ricks spoke to CNBC in front of the roughly 240 acres of land that will eventually house Lilly’s $6.5 billion manufacturing facility at Generation Park in Houston, Texas. The company said Monday that it expects to break ground on its upcoming construction site, nearly a year after its initial announcement, and expect the plant to be operational by 2030.
Eli Lilly Chairman and CEO Dave Ricks speaks during a press conference on September 23, 2025 in Houston, Texas.
Antranik Tabitian | Reuters
The most notable product at this facility is Foundayo, Lilly’s GLP-1 drug for treating obesity, which entered the U.S. market in April.
However, the plant will be responsible for manufacturing active ingredients for Lilly’s other small molecule medicines across several disease areas, including cardiometabolic health, oncology, immunology and neuroscience.
Ricks’ comments and the milestone come as Novo’s stock has fallen after failing to allay investor concerns about whether Novo’s long-term strategy can compete with Lilly in the obesity and diabetes market. Novo beat Lilly in pill launches, but Lilly announced in August that it had about 61% of the overall market share in the second quarter.
The manufacturing site is part of a series of new investments Lilly made last year to relocate its manufacturing operations across the United States. In February 2025, Lilly pledged to spend an additional $27 billion to build four new facilities, including a site in Houston, as part of its friendly relationship with President Donald Trump.
But alongside its drug portfolio, Lilly also highlights its manufacturing capabilities as a key competitive advantage over its main rival, Novo. The company has invested more than $50 billion in expanding its manufacturing network since 2020, positioning it to meet the growing demand for obesity and diabetes treatments while supporting future product launches.
Demand for Foundayo is growing in the U.S. The company announced in August that it had sales of $98 million in the second quarter, the pill’s first three months on the market. Medicare’s new breakthrough obesity drug coverage, which began in July, is expected to further expand access to the drug and Lilly’s hit weight-loss drug Zepbound.
