Weight-Loss Drugs Are Changing. Here’s What to Know

Weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1s are transforming health care. Some people who struggled for years to shed pounds experience dramatic weight loss on the medications, and there are indications that the drugs have potential to treat diseases beyond obesity.

The drugs also have minted billions of dollars for Eli Lilly & Co. and Denmark’s Novo Nordisk A/S, the two pharmaceutical powerhouses that developed the injected medications. Their rivalry is evolving: A head-to-head study showing Lilly’s Zepbound to be more effective than Novo’s Wegovy gave the Indianapolis-based company an edge in 2025. But Novo appeared poised to recover some ground after regulators approved a pill version of Wegovy, the first oral GLP-1 for weight loss.