Lilly's GLP-1 medications will soon be covered by CVS, potentially opening access for millions of Americans

By Jaimy Lee

Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 medications have had a preferred position with CVS

Eli Lilly said its new GLP-1 pill Foundayo will be on CVS Caremark's formularies next week.

Eli Lilly's stock closed at a record high after the drugmaker disclosed that one of the nation's most powerful pharmacy-benefit managers will start covering its popular GLP-1 medications later this year.

That means millions more Americans may get access to Lilly's new GLP-1 pill Foundayo or the GLP-1 injection Zepbound if their employers choose to include these drugs in their health plans.

Lilly's shares (LLY) closed 4% higher on Thursday, ending the day at $1,126.80. That's well past the company's highest previous close of $1,109.94 on Nov. 25, 2025.

The coverage deal is with CVS Health's (CVS) pharmacy-benefit manager, which plans to begin covering Foundayo on Monday and Zepbound on Oct. 1.

This is important for Lilly for two reasons: CVS Caremark is one of the nation's largest PBMs, representing 90 million patients, and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy products have had a preferred place on CVS formularies since last July. PBMs are the middlemen between insurance companies and employers when it comes to prescription-drug coverage.

"Not all medicines work the same way for patients," said Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA, in a statement. "Broader coverage puts real choice in the hands of millions of Americans and their doctors."

Lilly is the undisputed leader of the game-changing market for weight-loss drugs. It has sailed past Novo's first-mover advantage with strategic decisions, including building out its manufacturing facilities, engaging with the Trump administration and setting up a business called Lilly Direct, which allows patients paying cash for the drugs to buy them directly from the company. Mounjaro, which is the same medication as Zepbound but approved for Type 2 diabetes, is now the world's top-selling drug, and Lilly became the first drugmaker with a $1 trillion market cap last year.

However, as the competition between the Wegovy pill and Foundayo plays out, it appears that Novo's drug is capturing the majority of prescriptions. The Wegovy pill was the first oral GLP-1 medication for weight loss when it launched in January. Foundayo arrived four months later, but comparative week-over-week prescriptions show that the Wegovy pill is far more popular in the U.S. than Foundayo.

Analysts believe the CVS Caremark coverage may boost sales of Foundayo.

The decision "meaningfully expands the addressable Rx pool for Zepbound and Foundayo," Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger told investors Thursday morning.

The announcement did little to deter Novo's U.S.-listed stock (NVO) (DK:NOVO.B), which closed 2.2% higher on Thursday. Its medications are still considered as having preferred status by CVS Caremark, according to Tom Scales, Novo's senior vice president of market access and public affairs and patient-support solutions.

-Jaimy Lee

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05-28-26 1621ET