Most doses of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, Mounjaro in short supply through June, FDA says 

Most
doses
of


Eli
Lilly‘s
highly
popular

weight
loss
drug
Zepbound
and
diabetes
counterpart
Mounjaro
will
be
in
short
supply
through
the
second
quarter
of
this
year
as
demand
jumps,
according
to
an

update
on
the
Food
and
Drug
Administration’s
drug
shortage
database
on
Wednesday. 

All
doses
of
Zepbound
and
Mounjaro
besides
the
2.5-milligram
versions
of
both
treatments
are
in
a
shortage.
A

previous
update
said
some
doses
of
both
drugs
would
have
limited
availability
through
April.

The
new
update
suggests
that
the
insatiable
demand
for
a
buzzy
class
of
weight
loss
and
diabetes
drugs
is
still
trouncing

supply,
even
as
Eli
Lilly
and
its
main
rival,


Novo
Nordisk,
work
to
increase
production
of
those
treatments. 

Many
patients

are
struggling
to
find
the

injectable
treatments,
which
have
soared
in
demand
for
helping
them
shed
significant
pounds
over
time. Those
treatments
are
sometimes
known
as
incretin
drugs,
which
mimic
gut
hormones
to
suppress
appetite
and
regulate
blood
sugar.

“We
recognize
this
situation
may
cause
a
disruption
in
peoples’
treatment
regimens
and
are
working
with
purpose
and
urgency
to
help
meet
the
surge
in
demand,”
an
Eli
Lilly
spokesperson
said
in
a
statement
to
CNBC.
The
company
expects
its
investments
in
manufacturing
and
supply
capacity “to
progressively
increase
production
of
our
medicines
throughout
2024
and
beyond,”
they
added.

Eli
Lilly
in
February
said
it
has
achieved
its
goal
of
doubling
production
capacity
for
such
incretin
drugs
by
the
end
of
2023.
The
company
said
it
will
expand
production
with “equal
urgency”
this
year,
with
the
most
significant
increases
occurring
in
the
second
half
of
the
year. 

By
that
point
in
the
year,
the
company
expects
its
production
of
sellable
doses
of
incretin
drugs
to
be
at
least
1.5
times
higher
than
it
was
in
the
second
half
of
2023.

Eli
Lilly
has
also
said
that
a
new
plant
in
Concord,
North
Carolina,
will
start
production
of
incretin
drugs
as
early
as
the
end
of
the
year,
with
products
available
to
ship
in
2025.
The
company
also
will
build
a
handful
of
other
facilities
over
the
next
few
years,
including
a
site
in
Germany
and
two
new
plants
in
its
home
state
of
Indiana. 

Novo
Nordisk
has
announced
similar
efforts.
Some
doses
of
its
weight
loss
drug
Wegovy
and
diabetes
counterpart
Ozempic
are
also
in
short
supply,
according
to
the
FDA’s
website.