Mounjaro, Zepbound doses in short supply
Increasing demand has strained stock at drug maker Eli Lilly, FDA says
The Food and Drug Administration website showed that most doses of Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound would be in limited supply through the second quarter of this year due to increased demand.
The health regulator’s website noted limited availability of the 5 milligram, 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg and 15 mg doses for both the drugs. The 2.5 milligram doses for the treatments were listed as available.
Previously, some doses of both the drugs were expected to be available in limited quantities through April.
Doses of Mounjaro have been available in limited amounts since February.
Increasing demand for a type of highly effective diabetes and weightloss treatment known as GLP-1 agonists has led to supply constraints for drugmakers such as Lilly and Novo Nordisk .
Lilly earlier this month said it continues to manufacture and ship all doses of Zepbound but due to soaring demand for these medicines, some patients could experience difficulty when trying to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies.
Lilly did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Mounjaro has been approved since 2022 for patients with Type 2 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels.
It was approved in the U.S. for weight loss under the brand name Zepbound late last year.
Separately, Lilly said earlier on Wednesday that tirzepatide – the active ingredient in both Mounjaro and Zepbound – helped ease symptoms of a common sleep-related breathing disorder across two late-stage studies.