Peptide research, regulation, discovery. Every story links to the peptide it’s about.
RSSNovo Nordisk's Ozempic pill (oral semaglutide) hits 70,000+ U.S. pharmacies May 4, the first FDA-approved oral peptide GLP-1 cleared for cardiovascular risk reduction, at $25 per three-month supply for insured T2D patients. Lilly's Foundayo, the small-molecule oral GLP-1 launched three weeks earlier, hit 5,612 prescriptions in its third week. The oral GLP-1 category finally has two products in active launch.
Eli Lilly reported Q1 2026 revenue of $19.8 billion, up 56% year over year, with Mounjaro at $8.66 billion (+125%) and Zepbound at $4.16 billion (+80%). 65% volume growth offset 13% price decline. Full-year 2026 revenue guidance raised $2 billion at each end of the range to $82-85 billion.
Zealand Pharma and Roche announced April 29 that they are formally advancing petrelintide into Phase 3 trials for chronic weight management in H2 2026, on the strength of ZUPREME-1's 10.7% weight loss with placebo-like tolerability. The Phase 3 design includes both a monotherapy arm and a combination arm with Roche's GLP-1/GIP dual agonist enicepatide.
OrbiMed-incubated Pinnacle Medicines closed an oversubscribed $89 million Series B for oral peptide therapeutics designed to match injectable-biologic efficacy in asthma, COPD, immunology, and inflammation. The round signals that the peptide capital flow is finally widening beyond GLP-1.
A C&EN feature surveys three amylin obesity candidates (Novo cagrilintide, Lilly eloralintide, Roche/Zealand petrelintide). Phase 2 has not delivered the muscle-preservation or GI-tolerance profile early investors expected. CagriSema's Phase 3 head-to-head against tirzepatide is the readout that decides the case.
Eli Lilly reports Q1 on April 30 with Foundayo's slow first two weeks (3,707 scripts vs Wegovy pill's 18,410 at the same week) under scrutiny. Novo follows May 6 with guided 5-to-13% sales decline. Goldman models Lilly's oral GLP-1 at 60% of the daily-oral segment by 2030 versus Novo at 21%.
A new retail floor and a new capital ceiling for the weight-loss drug market, landed in the same week. The price patients pay and the price investors pay, both just reset.