Eli Lilly on Monday said its obesity pill Foundayo significantly reduced the severity of obstructive sleep apnea, the most common sleep-related breathing disorder, in patients with obesity, in a late-stage trial.
The drugmaker plans to file by the end of the year for U.S. approval of the daily pill for moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, in adults with obesity or who are overweight. The results make the pill — which rolled out in the U.S. in April — one of several GLP-1 treatments to show promise in treating the condition.
OSA refers to interrupted breathing during sleep due to narrowed or blocked airways, which can cause drops in oxygen and increases in blood pressure that are associated with serious complications, such as hypertension, heart failure and stroke. The condition affects nearly 1 billion adults globally, including 80 million people ages 20 and over in the U.S., according to the National Council on Aging. Most have never been diagnosed, Lilly said in a release.
Lilly's blockbuster weight loss injection Zepbound became the first medication to win U.S. approval for OSA in December 2024. Patients have limited treatment options outside of that drug and many...