Eli Lilly said it has captured more than 30% of new patients in the U.S. market for oral obesity treatments, narrowing the lead initially held by Danish rival Novo Nordisk and its Wegovy pill. Novo CEO Mike Doustdar said in August that the company estimated Wegovy had about 90% of the U.S. oral obesity market, despite competition from Lilly’s Foundayo. Demand for pills is being closely watched because oral treatments could attract patients reluctant to use injections and ease some supply constraints linked to injectable therapies. Novo expects oral drugs to account for more than a third of GLP-1 (a hormone-based drug class) weight-loss treatment use by 2030, while analysts forecast the U.S. obesity-treatment market will exceed $100 billion annually by then. Lilly Executive Vice President Ilya Yuffa also said its injectable GLP-1 treatment Zepbound has been preferred by patients in a U.S. government Medicare obesity-drug pilot launched in July. Between 60% and 70% of participants are new to the treatments, and eligible beneficiaries pay a $50 monthly co-pay. Medicare covers about 66 million people aged 65 and older or with disabilities. Outside the U.S., Lilly faces generic competition in India and Canada, where versions of Novo’s Wegovy and Ozempic cost as much as 70% less. Yuffa said those launches have expanded the market, while absolute Mounjaro volume continues to grow in those countries. Mounjaro is Lilly’s brand name for tirzepatide outside the U.S. in both obesity and diabetes treatments.