LLY.US (LLY.US) Investors Turn Europe to Invest US$360 Million in the UK Biotech Sector

The Zhitong Finance App learned that US pharmaceutical giant Lilly (LLY.US) plans to invest about 279 million pounds (about 364 million US dollars) in a new investment initiative, mainly to support the collaborative development of several biotech companies in the UK, and will also study the impact of its major drugs to treat diabetes and obesity in the UK on the use of medical resources and employment conditions in the UK.

According to an email statement on Monday, the Indianapolis based US pharmaceutical company's latest investment includes £204 million to establish Lilly Gateway Labs (Lilly Gateway Labs) in the UK, enabling some early-stage biotech companies in the UK to access Eli Lilly's expertise, lab space, and potential financial investments.

Other investments in the UK include a 5-year “tirzepatide” real-world study involving Mounjaro, a drug used to treat symptoms of diabetes and obesity in the US market, and Zepbound for weight loss, the impact on UK medical resources, as well as a study on the promotion of anti-obesity drugs in the UK. tirzepatide is the core ingredient in Eli Lilly's diet pills.

Although the UK government has long been committed to positioning the country as a “life science superpower,” it has been difficult to attract and retain investment for a long time. Eli Lilly's CEO Dave Ricks introduced the initiative at a conference in London. International business leaders such as Eli Lilly promised to increase the scale of investment in the UK, while the British government promised to relax regulations on British business.

According to the statement, in addition to studying the extent to which patients use healthcare services, Eli Lilly's real-world research on tirzepatide in the UK will also monitor changes in employment status and sick leave status. Eli Lilly said it will cooperate with the British government to explore other major investment opportunities, such as building Eli Lilly's large-scale manufacturing base and cooperating with the country's venture capital fund. Since the new British Labour government took office, it has been trying to attract more foreign investment.

A recent study found that the group of obese patients using Mounjaro (the core ingredient is Tirzepatide), a drug launched by Eli Lilly for both weight loss and treatment of diabetes, was significantly more effective than Ozempic (the core ingredient is Semaglutide, simeglutide), which is also a drug for weight loss and treatment of diabetes introduced by Lilly's strongest competitor in the weight loss medicine field, Novo Nordisk (NVO.US).

The above study can be described as significant for the two major pharmaceutical giants “Nolly,” which have formed a monopoly in the diet medicine market. It may cause more obese patients or groups trying to lose weight through injections to switch to Eli Lilly instead of Nord Nord. It may also have a boosting effect on Eli Lilly's stock price.

Looking at the longer term, the average weight loss for patients using Eli Lilly Mounjaro was as high as 10.1% during 6 months of use, while the average weight loss for patients using Novo Nordisk Ozempic was only 5.8%. Mounjaro users lost an average weight of 15.3% over 12 months, while Ozempic users lost an average weight of 8.3%. The study also showed that the risk of gastrointestinal adverse events between the two weight loss injections is basically similar.