Eli Lilly's Weight-Loss Drug Deal: A Win for Patients, or Just Another Pharma Ploy?
Alright, let's get one thing straight: whenever I hear about a "deal" between a pharmaceutical giant and the government, my BS detector immediately starts blaring like a fire alarm in a clown college. Eli Lilly, huh? Suddenly they're the good guys, cutting prices on weight-loss drugs? Give me a break.
So, Trump swoops in with TrumpRX – because of course, it needs his name plastered all over it – and suddenly everyone's going to get cheap weight-loss meds? Please. This whole thing smells fishier than a week-old tuna sandwich left in a locker room.
They're saying Medicare will cover Zepbound and Wegovy by mid-2026, and folks will only have to cough up $50 a month. Okay, that sounds decent on paper. But who actually qualifies for Medicare? And what hoops are they going to make people jump through to get this supposed discount? It's probably easier to win the lottery.
And what's with this tiered pricing on TrumpRX? Starting doses of Wegovy and Zepbound at $350 a month, then "down" to $245 in two years? That's still highway robbery! They’re acting like they’re doing us a favor.
I read some analyst jabbering about how this could "broaden the market" for these drugs. Translation: more people get hooked, Eli Lilly makes even more ungodly piles of cash.
Let's be real, Eli Lilly's riding high on this whole GLP-1 craze. Zepbound, Mounjaro... these names sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, and they're raking in billions. The article mentioned Zepbound prescriptions tripled. Tripled! People are desperate, and Big Pharma is more than happy to feed that desperation... for a hefty price.
They're even working on an oral version, orforglipron. Because sticking yourself with a needle is just too inconvenient, right? Gotta make it as easy as possible to become a lifelong customer. I wonder what kind of long-term side effects they're conveniently not telling us about this time.
And then there's retatrutide, promising "more rapid weight loss results." Oh, joy. Another miracle drug that will probably cause your hair to fall out and your toenails to turn green.
I saw some numbers – Eli Lilly shares are up 17.5% this year, modestly outpacing the S&P 500. Modestly? That’s like saying a tsunami is “modestly” wetter than a sprinkler. The stock is trading at 29 times forward earnings. Are people actually buying this hype? Are we all just lemmings marching off a cliff?
Oh, and while we're at it, let's not forget about DuPont. Apparently, their little "value unlock" spin-off of Qnity Electronics is going swimmingly. Both stocks are up, valuations are closer to peers, and everyone's patting themselves on the back. But here's the thing: is this just a shiny object to distract us from the bigger picture? Are they hoping we'll all get so excited about Qnity's "positive sessions" that we forget about the potential downsides of Eli Lilly's drug deal? Maybe I'm just paranoid. I mean, offcourse, corporations never try to manipulate public perception. Wall Street gets another reason to like Eli Lilly stock, and DuPont's spin is going to plan
This whole thing stinks. Eli Lilly might be offering some discounts, but let's not pretend this is some act of altruism. It's about profit, plain and simple. And the long-term cost to our health, our wallets, and our society might be far greater than any short-term savings. I ain't buying it.
