Pharma: GLP-1 & obesity drugs
Semaglutide, tirzepatide and the next wave: about $132B in 2025 GLP-1 sales, with generics now open in Canada
GLP-1 receptor agonists and related incretin drugs (semaglutide, tirzepatide, and newer pills and multi-agonists) are sold for type 2 diabetes, obesity and related conditions. Two makers dominate: Novo Nordisk (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) and Eli Lilly (Mounjaro, Zepbound, and the Foundayo pill approved April 2026). IQVIA's Scott Biggs put 2025 GLP-1 sales near $132 billion, up 33.5%. The market is growing because more drugs are being approved, pills are arriving and new indications are added. It is also being reshaped by US price deals, PBM formulary fights, compounding, and generic semaglutide in Canada, India and Brazil from 2026.
new market · sits inside NAICS 325412, 325411 · researched 2026-11-14
global revenue · world132
↗USD billions (GLP-1 therapies, all indications) · 2025
global revenue · world42
↗USD billions (obesity category, stated as 'nearly $42 billion', 4th-largest therapy category) · 2025
patients · US11
↗million unique US patients on a GLP-1 across indications · 2025
prescriptions · US9
↗million GLP-1 prescriptions per month (stated as 'surpassed 9M') · 2024
G
Growth
Dated and sourced; forecasts are labelled as forecasts.
- 2026-04IQVIA's Scott Biggs (AMCP 2026): 2025 GLP-1 sales about $132B, up 33.5% from 2024. Mounjaro $39.1B (+67.1%), Zepbound $22.9B (+188.7%), Wegovy $18.6B (+29.2%). ↗
- 2026-04FORECAST: IQVIA projects obesity therapies will add $100 billion in sales growth by 2029. About 190 obesity-related products are in the pipeline. ↗
- 2026-02Eli Lilly's total revenue rose from US$45.04B (2024) to US$65.18B (2025), per its 10-K XBRL filing. Wikipedia says tirzepatide made up 56% of 2025 revenue. ↗
- 2025-09IQVIA: unique US patients on GLP-1 therapy rose 200% in the 12 months after Mounjaro's launch, reaching 11M across indications by Q2 2025. ↗
S
Segments
Each linked segment has its own page with its companies.
- GLP-1 diabetes drugs 2 — Ozempic, Mounjaro, Trulicity, Victoza: weekly or daily injectables for type 2 diabetes.
- Weight-loss (obesity) injectables 3 — Wegovy, Zepbound, Saxenda: chronic weight-management drugs, mainly sold through retail pharmacies (83% of GLP-1 sales).
- Oral GLP-1 pills 3 — Rybelsus, oral Wegovy (FDA-approved Dec 2025) and Lilly's small-molecule Foundayo/orforglipron (FDA-approved Apr 2026).
- Next-generation obesity drugs 7 — Retatrutide (triple agonist), CagriSema, amycretin, MariTide, petrelintide, Pfizer/Metsera MET-097i/MET-233i, mazdutide (approved in China).
- Generic semaglutide 3 — Copies launching where protection has lapsed: Canada (approvals from Apr 2026), India and Brazil (Mar 2026). US protection runs to no earlier than Dec 2031.
- Supply chain, compounding & pharmacy 4 — Peptide API and fill-finish CDMOs, US 503B compounders and telehealth, direct-to-consumer pharmacies, and PBM formularies.
C
Leading companies in pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs
15 companies, with the scale each source states.
| Company | Where | What they do | Scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eli Lilly and Company LLY ↗ | Indianapolis, United States since 1876 | Tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), orforglipron pill (Foundayo) and retatrutide in Phase 3. Reached $1T market cap Nov 2025. | revenue: 65.179 USD billions (total company) (2025) ↗ |
| Novo Nordisk NOVO-B.CO / NVO ↗ | Bagsværd, Denmark since 1923 | Semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus, oral Wegovy) and liraglutide. CagriSema and amycretin in development. | revenue: 309.1 DKK billions (total company) (2025) ↗ |
| Pfizer (Metsera) PFE ↗ | New York, United States since 1849 | Bought Metsera (completed 13 Nov 2025). Gained MET-097i, a weekly/monthly injectable GLP-1 about to enter Phase 3, and MET-233i, a monthly amylin analog. | acquisition enterprise value: 7 USD billions plus CVR up to $20.65/share (2025) ↗ |
| Amgen AMGN ↗ | Thousand Oaks, United States since 1980 | MariTide (maridebart cafraglutide): a GIPR-antibody/GLP-1 peptide conjugate in investigational development for obesity. | — |
| Roche ROG.SW ↗ | Basel, Switzerland since 1896 | Partner on Zealand Pharma's amylin analog petrelintide (Phase IIb, obesity and type 2 diabetes). | — |
| Zealand Pharma ZEAL.CO ↗ | Søborg, Denmark since 1998 | Peptide biotech developing petrelintide (amylin analog) with Roche. | — |
| Innovent Biologics 1801.HK ↗ | Suzhou, China since 2011 | Co-developer, with Lilly, of mazdutide (GLP-1/glucagon), approved for marketing in China in June 2025. | — |
| Chugai Pharmaceutical 4519.T ↗ | Tokyo, Japan since 1925 | Discovered orforglipron and licensed it to Lilly in 2018 (now Foundayo). | — |
| Catalent ↗ | Tampa, United States since 2007 | CDMO bought by Novo Holdings for $16.5B. Novo Nordisk took three Catalent plants for $11B to scale Wegovy/Ozempic output. | revenue: 4.38 USD billions (FY to 30 Jun 2024) (2024) ↗ |
| Bachem BANB.SW ↗ | Bubendorf, Switzerland since 1971 | Peptide API CDMO. Commercial API sales were CHF 343.4M in 2025, driven by 'patent-protected peptides'. The release does not name GLP-1 customers. | revenue: 695.1 CHF millions (2025) ↗ |
| Hims & Hers Health HIMS ↗ | San Francisco, United States since 2017 | Telehealth seller of compounded semaglutide since May 2024 (owns 503B MedisourceRx). Received an FDA warning letter Sep 2025. Novo sued over its compounded oral pill in Feb 2026. | revenue: 2.348 USD billions (total company) (2025) ↗ |
| CVS Health (CVS Caremark) CVS ↗ | Woonsocket, United States since 1963 | PBM. Made Wegovy preferred and removed Zepbound on its commercial template formularies from 1 Jul 2025 under a Novo deal. | — |
| Apotex APTX.TO ↗ | Toronto, Canada since 1974 | Canadian generic maker. Health Canada approved Apo-Semaglutide (Apr 2026) and Sevmia for weight management (Jun 2026). | revenue: 3.9 CAD billions worldwide sales (Forbes, via Wikipedia) (2023) ↗ |
| Dr. Reddy's Laboratories RDY / DRREDDY.NS ↗ | Hyderabad, India since 1984 | Approved in Canada in April 2026 to sell injectable generic semaglutide, after applying in Feb 2024. | — |
| Sandoz SDZ.SW ↗ | Basel, Switzerland since 1886 | Has applied for generic semaglutide in Canada (diabetes only), not yet approved per source. | — |
CA
In Canada
- 2026-01Semaglutide's Canadian chemical-structure patent lapsed in 2020 after Novo failed to pay a required maintenance fee. Data exclusivity expired in January 2026, opening the door to generics. ↗
- 2026-04Health Canada approved injectable generic semaglutide from Dr. Reddy's and Apotex (Apo-Semaglutide) in the same week. ↗
- 2026-06Health Canada approved Apotex's Sevmia (semaglutide) for weight management, ages 12 and up. ↗
- 2026-07Aspen Pharmacare's generic semaglutide was approved for diabetes. Sandoz has applied. Health Canada says Novo's own Plosbrio and Poviztra differ from Ozempic/Wegovy only in name and packaging. ↗
R
What would have to be true
- Price compression: the Nov 2025 US deals (about $245/month injectables, $149 some orals for Medicare/Medicaid/TrumpRx) and a Jan 2027 list-price cut to $675 could cap revenue per patient.
- Generic semaglutide in Canada, India, Brazil and (from Apr 2027 data protection end) China could erode branded sales outside the US/EU before 2031.
- PBM formulary exclusions (CVS Caremark, Jul 2025) and employer coverage decisions decide access. About 28% of US obesity patients dropped off within the first year (IQVIA).
- Compounded copies (up to 1.5M US users per Novo's CEO, Jan 2026) and the outcome of Novo's patent litigation affect the cash-pay channel.
Quick answers
- How big is the pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs market?
- global revenue (world): 132 USD billions (GLP-1 therapies, all indications), 2025 — Managed Healthcare Executive; global revenue (world): 42 USD billions (obesity category, stated as 'nearly $42 billion', 4th-largest therapy category), 2025 — Managed Healthcare Executive.
- Is the pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs market growing?
- IQVIA's Scott Biggs (AMCP 2026): 2025 GLP-1 sales about $132B, up 33.5% from 2024. Mounjaro $39.1B (+67.1%), Zepbound $22.9B (+188.7%), Wegovy $18.6B (+29.2%).
- Who are the leading pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs companies?
- Eli Lilly and Company (United States), Novo Nordisk (Denmark), Pfizer (Metsera) (United States), Amgen (United States), Roche (Switzerland), Zealand Pharma (Denmark), Innovent Biologics (China), Chugai Pharmaceutical (Japan), and 7 more in the table above.
- Which pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs companies are publicly traded?
- Eli Lilly and Company (LLY), Novo Nordisk (NOVO-B.CO / NVO), Pfizer (Metsera) (PFE), Amgen (AMGN), Roche (ROG.SW), Zealand Pharma (ZEAL.CO), Innovent Biologics (1801.HK), Chugai Pharmaceutical (4519.T), Bachem (BANB.SW), Hims & Hers Health (HIMS).
- Which Canadian companies are in pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs?
- Apotex, Toronto.
- What is happening with pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs in Canada?
- Semaglutide's Canadian chemical-structure patent lapsed in 2020 after Novo failed to pay a required maintenance fee. Data exclusivity expired in January 2026, opening the door to generics.
- What are the main segments of the pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs market?
- Diabetes incretins (injectable), Obesity injectables, Oral GLP-1s, Next-generation multi-agonists and amylin, Generic semaglutide, Supply chain, compounding and channels.
- What are the risks in the pharma: glp-1 & obesity drugs market?
- Price compression: the Nov 2025 US deals (about $245/month injectables, $149 some orals for Medicare/Medicaid/TrumpRx) and a Jan 2027 list-price cut to $675 could cap revenue per patient.
Sources (18)
- GLP-1 drugs to drive growth in obesity and diabetes treatment (AMCP Annual 2026) — Managed Healthcare Executive
- Obesity deep dive: the unparalleled launch success of Mounjaro and Zepbound — IQVIA
- Eli Lilly — Revenues (XBRL company concept, 10-K filed 2026-02-12) — U.S. SEC
- Pfizer Completes Acquisition of Metsera — Pfizer
- Improving access and affordability to high-cost weight management drugs — CVS Health
- Bachem reports strong sales growth and sustained high profitability — Bachem
- Semaglutide — Wikipedia
- Novo Nordisk — Wikipedia
- Eli Lilly and Company — Wikipedia
- Orforglipron — Wikipedia
- GLP-1 receptor agonist — Wikipedia
- Retatrutide — Wikipedia
- Mazdutide — Wikipedia
- Maridebart cafraglutide — Wikipedia
- Zealand Pharma — Wikipedia
- Catalent — Wikipedia
- Hims & Hers Health — Wikipedia
- Apotex — Wikipedia