Jim Cramer says Novo Nordisk doesn’t need a head start on the obesity drug market over its Eli Lilly affiliate. Eli Lilly stock was down about 0.5% this morning, while Novo Nordisk stock rose more than 8% after the company won FDA approval for its first GLP-1 weight loss drug. “(Novo) got approval faster than we thought. People panic right away. They sold Lily. Big mistake,” Jim said at a Tuesday morning meeting. Lilly’s stock decline has been exaggerated. That’s because it’s only a matter of time before the company receives U.S. regulatory approval for its oral weight-loss drug, orforglipron. Additionally, orforglipron has advantages over Novo’s tablets, which may make it more attractive to patients. “I don’t like Novo. I like Lilly. It’s obvious that Lilly will come back because they have their own drug and it will be launched in three months,” Jim added. Novo plans to launch once-daily oral Wegoby, known as “Wegoby in a Pill,” in the U.S. in early January. The Danish drugmaker said the starting dose of 1.5 milligrams will be available through pharmacies and certain telemedicine providers with a savings offer of $149 per month. Mike Doosder, Novo’s CEO, said in an interview with CNBC on Tuesday that he expects the Wigovy pill to increase the size of the weight-loss drug market. “We also know from our own family and friends that there are still many people who don’t get a shot because they’re too scared of needles or because there’s a social taboo that it makes them sick.” In addition to attracting new patients to GLP-1, some patients may switch from injectables to pills to maintain weight loss in a convenient way, Doostdar said in a statement late Monday. LLY YTD Mountain Eli Lilly (LLY) Year-to-date Performance Yes, this approval is a long-awaited win for Novo. But being first out of the gate doesn’t mean you’ll dominate Lily in the long run. Consider: Novo Nordisk beat Lilly in the injectable GLP-1 market for weight loss with Wegovy in 2021. But that didn’t stop Lilly from ultimately taking a leadership position in the lucrative field once the Zepbound treatment was launched in late 2023. Lilly is expected to generate about $17 billion in revenue from sales of Zepbound in 2025, compared with about $13 billion for injectable Wegovy, according to FactSet. Importantly, Lilly’s Orforglipron will offer several benefits over Wigoby tablets when it finally hits the market. Most notably, Lilly’s oral GLP-1 has no food or water restrictions. When using Wegovy tablets, patients must empty their stomach and wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking or taking another oral medication. The companies indicated they have been ramping up supply of the oral GLP-1 in hopes of avoiding the shortages that once plagued its injectable counterpart. Overall, this has been a killer year for Eli Lilly stock after a weak first half, and Tuesday’s news doesn’t change that. In November, Lilly became the first pharmaceutical company to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization. Stocks rose after President Trump announced a deal with Lilly and Novo that would lower the price of some obesity drugs to expand access to expensive treatments. Despite Tuesday’s weak results, Lilly stock is up 40% since the start of 2025. Meanwhile, Novo stock is down about 40% this year. (Jim Cramer’s Charitable Trust is Long LLY. See here for a complete list of stocks.) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in his charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on CNBC TV, he will issue a trade alert and then wait 72 hours before executing the trade. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, along with our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
