Eli Lilly surges 7.5% as weight loss drugs, cancer pipeline drive gains

Eli Lilly shares surged 7.5% to a record on Friday, driven by its weight loss drugs and a European regulatory milestone for cancer drug Jaypirca.

"For many, this will be the first time obesity treatment has been within reach," Ilya Yuffa, an executive at Eli Lilly, said of the company's new Medicare GLP-1 Bridge program.

The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use issued a positive opinion for Jaypirca, or pirtobrutinib, for adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia across all lines of therapy. The European Commission is expected to issue a final decision within two months. CLL affects approximately 100,000 people annually worldwide. Separately, Eli Lilly said its obesity drugs Zepbound and Foundayo will be available through Medicare starting July 1 for as little as $50 per month, opening access to an estimated 20 million Medicare beneficiaries who meet clinical criteria for obesity medications.

The gains extend a rally that has made Eli Lilly healthcare's first trillion-dollar company. The company has also committed up to $4 billion to acquire three vaccine developers — Curevo, LimmaTech Biologics and Vaccine Company — targeting shingles, staph infections and Epstein-Barr virus, as part of a renewed push into infectious disease.

The stock's advance reflects investor confidence in Eli Lilly's dominance of the GLP-1 market, where oral formulations of its weight loss drugs are expanding addressable demand. However, employer coverage of the medications remains uncertain: a Mercer survey found 6 percent of large employers dropped GLP-1 weight loss coverage in 2026, with 5 percent considering doing so for 2027, as monthly net costs run between $569 and $664 per employee. Investors will watch for the European Commission's Jaypirca decision in the coming months and for any updates on the company's vaccine pipeline.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.