Eli Lilly’s Weight-Loss Treatment Found To Help Those With Sleep Apnea

Shares of Eli Lilly (LLY) gained in intraday trading Wednesday after the pharmaceutical firm said a late-stage study found its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, was effective in treating those who are overweight and suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

The company said that in a Phase 3 trial, on average, Zepbound reduced by up to 63% the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) in the test group, achieving all primary and key secondary endpoints. AHI records the number of times a person’s breathing shows a restricted or complete block of airflow per hour of sleep, and is used to measure the severity of OSA. Lilly pointed out that at the top end of the findings, use of Zepbound cut the number of events by 30 an hour. 

Dr. Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of development at Lilly, explained that OSA affects 80 million adults in the U.S., with more than 20 million having moderate or severe cases. He added that while other drugs for excessive sleeplessness associated with OSA now exist, Zepbound “has the potential to be the first pharmaceutical treatment for the underlying disease.”

Lilly noted that based on these results, it plans to submit authorization requests for expanded use of Zepbound for OSA to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other global regulatory bodies beginning in the middle of the year. 

Zepbound is sold as Mounjaro in some global markets outside the U.S.

Eli Lilly shares rose 0.5% to $750.30 each as of noon ET Wednesday and have added almost 27% so far this year. The news sent shares of ResMed (RMD), which makes devices to treat sleep apnea, down 6% to $173.39.