Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro now has FDA approval to cut heart attack and stroke risk in high risk adults with Type 2 diabetes.
The eli lilly diabetes drug Mounjaro has won a new approval from the Food and Drug Administration, this time to lower the risk of heart attack or stroke in high risk adults with Type 2 diabetes. The decision gives patients and doctors another tool for managing cardiovascular risk alongside blood sugar control.
What the New Approval for Eli Lilly's Diabetes Drug Covers
Mounjaro targets two hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1, and until now was cleared mainly for blood sugar management in people with Type 2 diabetes. The same drug is sold under the brand name Zepbound when prescribed for weight loss. The heart risk approval came after Lilly ran a large trial comparing Mounjaro directly against Trulicity, the company's older diabetes treatment. Patients taking Mounjaro saw an 8 percent lower rate of cardiovascular death, heart attack or stroke compared with those on Trulicity, according to Lilly.
The move follows a similar step by Novo Nordisk in 2024, when the FDA approved its drug Wegovy to reduce cardiovascular risk in overweight or obese adults who did not have diabetes. Together, the two approvals mark a shift in how regulators view GLP-1 based medications, treating them less as diabetes or weight loss drugs alone and more as tools for protecting the heart.
A Crowded and Growing Pipeline
Lilly and Novo are far from finished testing what these hormone targeting drugs can do. Lilly recently reported that patients on its experimental treatment retatrutide, which is still in development, lost between 19 percent and 28 percent of their body weight in a study, results the company says come close to what patients typically see after weight loss surgery. Retatrutide is designed to act on three hormone receptors at once: GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon.
Wells Fargo has said in a research note that the pipeline of GLP-1 weight loss drugs now outranks cancer treatments as the most valuable category of medicines still in development. Goldman Sachs has projected that global sales of weight loss drugs could reach about 105 billion dollars by 2030.
Coverage Remains a Sticking Point
Medicare has begun covering GLP-1 drugs for older adults through a bridge program, but private payers are proving less consistent. Starbucks announced it will stop covering GLP-1 weight loss drugs for employees starting in October. A survey from benefits consultant Mercer found that 6 percent of large employers plan to drop coverage of these drugs in 2026, with another 5 percent planning to do so in 2027, even though nearly half of large employers offered coverage in 2025. Insurers tend to be more willing to pay when the drugs are prescribed for Type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, or now, cardiovascular risk reduction, rather than for weight loss alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Eli Lilly make insulin?
Yes. Eli Lilly has long manufactured insulin products for people with diabetes, alongside its newer GLP-1 based treatments.
What drugs does Eli Lilly make?
Lilly's portfolio includes insulin products, the diabetes drug Mounjaro, the weight loss drug Zepbound (which uses the same active ingredient as Mounjaro), Trulicity for diabetes, and treatments in other areas such as oncology and immunology.
What is Eli Lilly's diabetes drug?
Mounjaro is Lilly's main current diabetes drug, approved to help manage blood sugar in adults with Type 2 diabetes and now also to reduce heart attack and stroke risk in high risk patients.
What is Eli Lilly's new diabetes drug?
The newly expanded approval applies to Mounjaro, which already treats Type 2 diabetes and now carries an added approval for cardiovascular risk reduction. Lilly is also developing retatrutide, an experimental drug still being tested.
What diabetes drugs does Eli Lilly make?
Lilly's diabetes lineup includes Mounjaro, Trulicity and various insulin products, each aimed at different aspects of blood sugar management and, in Mounjaro's case, cardiovascular risk.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult a qualified healthcare provider for guidance on diabetes treatment or cardiovascular risk.
