Lilly Ends Development of Early-Stage Obesity Drug, Saying It Fell Short of High Standards

Eli Lilly has ended development of an early-stage obesity drug candidate because it did not meet the company’s high expectations.

According to U.S. pharmaceutical news outlet Fierce Biotech on the 15th (local time), Lilly said the obesity drug candidate, code-named “LY4064912,” “did not meet the high bar for continued development.”

A Lilly spokesperson confirmed to the outlet that the candidate did not meet the company’s high standards.

The drug’s Phase 1 trial, which involved 77 participants, has ended. The trial was conducted in California and Texas in the United States and in Singapore, with healthy volunteers and people with overweight or obesity taking part.

Lilly did not answer questions about the drug’s mechanism of action. However, according to the U.S. federal clinical trials database, LY4064912 was to be administered by injection or infusion.

Lilly recently stopped disclosing its early-stage pipeline and removed related entries from its website and earnings presentations.

Lilly, a leader in obesity treatment, still has multiple next-generation candidates in Phase 2 and Phase 3 development.

Retatrutide is the next key drug candidate. The triple hormone receptor agonist targets GIP, GLP-1 and glucagon, and recently demonstrated 22.6% weight loss in a Phase 3 trial. Lilly plans to seek U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in the first quarter of 2027.