A new federal ruling means that patients will no longer have access to cheaper versions of Eli Lilly weight loss and diabetes drugs from compounding pharmacies.

This time next year, you may be swapping your GLP-1 injections for easier and as-effective oral weight-loss medication. It's also likely to be cheaper and not suffer the same kind of supply-chain shortages that existing therapeutics have faced.

In the first head-to-head comparison of leading incretin-based therapies, Eli Lilly’s dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist tirzepatide (Zepbound) delivered significantly greater and sustained weight loss than semaglutide (Wegovy) over 72 weeks in adults with obesity or overweight and comorbidities.

Growth stocks often don't come cheap, especially when their prospects look great, as is the case with Eli Lilly ( LLY 1.09%). It is the most valuable healthcare company in the world, with a market cap of around $800 billion. And yet it may still not be too late to invest in it.

Eli Lilly said sales of weight loss drug Zepbound and diabetes treatment Mounjaro soared in the first quarter.