Eli Lilly Says ‘You Snooze, You Lose’ as Its Foundayo Pill Cuts Sleep Apnea Severity by Up to 44%

“I find your breathing disturbing.” - My wife Eli Lilly

Good news for mouth breathers everywhere (me). Eli Lilly said Monday that Foundayo, its once-daily obesity pill, significantly reduced the severity of obstructive sleep apnea in a late-stage trial. The trillion-dollar Weight Watchers executioner plans to file for FDA approval by year-end, for moderate-to-severe sleep apnea in adults with obesity or who are overweight.

In case you don’t share a bed with a snorer, sleep apnea is when your airway keeps getting blocked while you sleep, so your oxygen drops and your blood pressure climbs, raising the odds of heart failure and stroke. Nearly 1B adults worldwide have it, which, holy sh*t. That includes ~80M Americans, and most of them have never been diagnosed.

Lilly’s weekly injection, Zepbound, already became the first drug approved for sleep apnea back in December 2024 (perhaps you’ve heard?). Outside of that, patients are mostly stuck with PAP machines from the likes of ResMed, a stock that’s slid this year on GLP-1 fears. Those machines are famously cumbersome, and strapping one on every night is the most effective form of birth control since the pill.

Lilly’s weekly injection, Zepbound, already became the first drug approved for sleep apnea back in December 2024 (friendly reminder). Outside of that, patients are mostly stuck with PAP machines from the likes of ResMed, a stock that’s slid this year on GLP-1 fears. Those machines are famously cumbersome, and strapping one on every night is the most effective form of birth control since the pill.

As for the trial, the first of two 52-week studies followed 363 patients who couldn’t or wouldn’t use a PAP machine. They had 21.1 fewer breathing interruptions per hour on Foundayo, vs. 4.3 fewer on placebo. That’s a 43.8% drop, and 31.5% of them hit remission or downgraded to mild. Which sounds great, until you realize they started at about 51 interruptions an hour. Meaning, the average patient still stopped breathing roughly 30 times an hour.

The second study followed 349 people who kept sleeping with (ayy) their PAP machines. They saw 18.3 fewer events per hour (27.5%) vs. 5.5 on placebo, and 19.6% hit remission or mild. Both groups lost about 11% of their body weight. Of course, there’s a sh*tty catch. Around 12% of the no-PAP group quit Foundayo over side effects (vs. 3.8% on placebo), mostly nausea, diarrhea, constipation and vomiting, which, fair.

None of this is quite Zepbound, which cut roughly 30 events an hour in its own sleep apnea trials. Foundayo is basically the Zepbound-we-have-at-home. It’s just that Lilly really needs this pill to work. Foundayo has been on the struggle bus since its April launch, missing sales estimates in both quarters it’s reported ($184M last quarter vs. ~$229M expected). Frenemy reminder, Novo’s Wegovy pill did $810M in the same quarter.

Oh, and back in March, Lilly dropped $7.8B on sleep-drug maker Centessa, and CEO Dave Ricks, who apparently has a fetish about this stuff, compared the sleep business to GLP-1s. 

If the FDA plays ball, millions of Americans could ditch the face hose and finally get some action again. #wishfulthinking. Place your bets accordingly, friends…

Until next time! 

 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News does not hold positions in companies mentioned in the article.