Last updated: October 1, 2026
Lilly’s EloraTZP, a combination of the amylin agonist eloralintide and tirzepatide, cut weight up to 23.3% over 48 weeks in Phase 2 type 2 diabetes data, beating tirzepatide 15 mg alone. Lilly’s oral GLP-1 Foundayo also met its cardiovascular safety endpoint, and CMS finalized the GLOBE rule.
This page covers the life sciences news of Wednesday, September 30, 2026: Lilly’s EloraTZP and ACHIEVE-4 results, Novo Nordisk’s OCTANE and CagriSema data at EASD 2026, the final GLOBE rule, the Camzyos pediatric approval, the admilparant liver disclosure, and the day’s other developments.
What did Lilly’s EloraTZP combination show at EASD 2026?
EloraTZP, which pairs the selective amylin agonist eloralintide with tirzepatide, produced up to 23.3% average weight loss over 48 weeks in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, against 14.8% for tirzepatide 15 mg alone and 3.0% for placebo, per Lilly’s September 30 release.
The Phase 2b trial (NCT06603571) randomized 367 adults in the US and Argentina across ten arms: four combination doses, three eloralintide monotherapy doses, tirzepatide 15 mg, and placebo. Results were presented September 30 at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes in Milan.
| Arm (48 weeks) | Weight change | A1c change | Discontinuation for adverse events |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eloralintide 9 mg + tirzepatide 15 mg | −23.3% (−54.1 lb) | −2.9% | 10.8% to 27.0% across combination arms |
| Eloralintide 6 mg + tirzepatide 10 mg | −19.9% (−46.2 lb) | −2.6% | |
| Eloralintide 6 mg + tirzepatide 5 mg | −19.4% (−45.1 lb) | −2.7% | |
| Eloralintide 3 mg + tirzepatide 5 mg | −13.2% (−30.7 lb) | −2.2% | |
| Tirzepatide 15 mg alone | −14.8% (−34.4 lb) | −2.4% | 2.9% |
| Eloralintide monotherapy (3, 6, 9 mg) | −8.2% to −12.3% | −1.1% to −1.4% | 0% to 10.8% |
| Placebo | −3.0% (−7.0 lb) | −0.3% | 16.7% |
Two details matter beyond the headline number. First, the middle combination arms reached 19.4% and 19.9% weight loss while using only 5 mg or 10 mg of tirzepatide, meaning the amylin component allowed deeper weight loss on substantially less incretin. Second, tolerability was the cost: discontinuations for adverse events ran 10.8% to 27.0% across combination arms, against 2.9% on tirzepatide 15 mg alone, with gastrointestinal events concentrated during dose escalation. Lilly said Phase 3 trials of a single combined EloraTZP formulation will begin by the end of 2026 using an optimized dose escalation schedule, which is where the company will try to buy back that tolerability gap.
For context, Lilly’s retatrutide reported 20.8% weight loss at 80 weeks in TRIUMPH-2, in a Phase 3 type 2 diabetes and obesity population, one day earlier. The trials differ in phase, size, and duration, so the numbers are not a head to head comparison, but both now sit inside one company’s pipeline.
Did Foundayo (orforglipron) pass its cardiovascular safety trial?
Yes. ACHIEVE-4 met its primary endpoint: Foundayo (orforglipron), Lilly’s once daily oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, showed noninferior cardiovascular safety versus insulin glargine in 2,749 adults with type 2 diabetes, obesity or overweight, and increased cardiovascular risk, per Lilly’s release issued the evening before the Thursday EASD presentation.
The event driven, open label trial compared orforglipron with titrated insulin glargine U-100. On the primary endpoint of major adverse cardiovascular events (cardiovascular death, heart attack, stroke, or hospitalization for unstable angina), the hazard ratio was 0.84 (95% CI 0.59 to 1.20), clearing the prespecified noninferiority bar but not reaching statistical superiority (p=0.336).
| ACHIEVE-4 result | Figure |
|---|---|
| Primary endpoint (four component MACE) | HR 0.84 (95% CI 0.59 to 1.20); p=0.336; noninferiority met |
| Cardiovascular death (preplanned analysis) | HR 0.47 (95% CI 0.25 to 0.90); p=0.019 |
| All cause mortality (preplanned analysis) | HR 0.43 (95% CI 0.25 to 0.75); p=0.002 |
| A1c at 52 weeks | −1.6% vs −1.0% for insulin glargine; p<0.001 |
| Weight at 52 weeks | −8.8% vs +1.7% for insulin glargine; p<0.001 |
| A1c ≤6.5% at 104 weeks | 54.6% vs 23.8% |
| Discontinuation for adverse events | 10.6% (52 week minimum exposure) |
The preplanned mortality analyses are the striking part: 53% lower cardiovascular death risk and 57% lower all cause mortality versus insulin glargine. Those analyses sit below a primary endpoint that did not reach superiority, and the comparator was insulin in an open label design, so they describe how orforglipron performed against an older standard of care rather than proving a protective effect. The trial also extends the safety database behind a product already in its commercial rollout: participants also saw lower blood pressure, triglycerides, hsCRP, and slower kidney function decline. A dedicated outcomes trial, ATTAIN-OUTCOMES, is ongoing in people with cardiovascular or kidney disease.
What did Novo’s OCTANE analysis show about switching to the Wegovy pill?
People who switched from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to the oral Wegovy pill lost a further 4.1% of body weight on average over three months, per Novo Nordisk’s September 30 release of the real world OCTANE analysis presented at EASD 2026.
OCTANE is a retrospective cohort analysis of de identified records from the Ro telehealth platform covering 194 adults with overweight or obesity who moved from an injectable incretin to oral semaglutide, with a mean 36.8 days between the last injection and the first pill. Mean baseline weight was 100.5 kg. Over three months, 40.7% of switchers lost at least another 5% of body weight, and the share of the cohort with a BMI of 30 or higher fell from 87.1% to 65.5%. The evidence has clear limits: it is retrospective, has no comparator arm, and draws from a single telehealth platform. But it is the first real world answer to a question payers and prescribers have been asking since the pill launched, which is whether switching off the injectable means giving back weight. In this cohort it did not. Novo said the Wegovy pill is now launched in the US, UAE, UK, and Germany.
Novo’s other EASD releases on the day covered CagriSema: a 52 week brain imaging study showing reduced food cravings and modified responses to food cues alongside 22.4% weight reduction, an MRI sub study of REIMAGINE 1 showing significant reductions in abdominal, liver, and pancreatic fat at 40 weeks, and a REIMAGINE 2 post hoc analysis supporting bone health during weight loss.
What is in the final GLOBE rule for Medicare Part B?
CMS finalized the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing (GLOBE) Model on September 30: a mandatory Medicare Part B payment model that ties rebates for separately payable drugs to prices in economically comparable countries, running January 1, 2027 through March 31, 2032 in randomly selected regions covering about 25% of Original Medicare beneficiaries.
| GLOBE model parameter | Final rule |
|---|---|
| Scope | Separately payable Medicare Part B drugs and biologics |
| Mechanism | Rebate formula benchmarked to international prices |
| Participation | Mandatory in randomly selected geographies, ~25% of Original Medicare beneficiaries |
| Duration | Jan 1, 2027 to Mar 31, 2032; reconciliation through Mar 31, 2034 |
| Exclusions added in the final rule | Orphan only drugs, plasma derived products, certain cell and gene therapies; biosimilars excluded once marketed |
Endpoints News reported that the government’s projected savings fell from $11.9 billion in the proposed rule to $440 million in the final version, a figure we could not independently confirm against the final rule text on Wednesday night. The direction is consistent with the exclusions CMS added after public comment.
The final rule landed on the same day as the signing deadline for GENEROUS, the Medicaid most favored nation purchasing model. As of CMS’s September 18 update, 40 states plus Puerto Rico had signed agreements, every state plus DC and Puerto Rico had applied, and the administration counted 26 participating manufacturers covering 89% of the branded drug market, with the White House projecting $64.3 billion in Medicaid savings over ten years (all figures per CMS and White House statements as reported; a final post deadline count had not been published as of Wednesday evening). Between GLOBE in Part B, GENEROUS in Medicaid, and the tariff linked manufacturer deals, international reference pricing now touches every major federal drug channel.
What did the FDA approve for children with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
The FDA expanded Camzyos (mavacamten) to pediatric patients ages 12 to under 18 weighing at least 30 kg, making the Bristol Myers Squibb cardiac myosin inhibitor the first approved therapy for symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in that group, per BMS’s release at 5:32 pm ET September 30.
The approval rests on SCOUT-HCM, a Phase 3 randomized, double blind, placebo controlled trial in 44 adolescents. Camzyos reduced the Valsalva left ventricular outflow tract gradient by 48.0 mm Hg more than placebo at Week 28 (95% CI −67.7 to −28.3, p<0.0001). The drug remains under its REMS program, with prescriber, pharmacy, and patient certification requirements.
Why did Contineum rebound after the admilparant liver disclosure?
Contineum Therapeutics closed up 16.7% Wednesday at 13.42, recovering its Tuesday slide, after analysts characterized the liver safety concern around Bristol Myers Squibb’s admilparant as overdone, per BioPharma Dive’s reporting.
The sequence, per BioPharma Dive: a trial amendment filed to EU registries in May 2026 classified liver injury as a newly classified important potential risk in the Phase 3 ALOFT long term extension of admilparant, an LPA1 receptor antagonist in pulmonary fibrosis, after a limited number of liver related adverse events that included one patient death. BMS said the death involved multi organ failure in a patient with underlying lung disease and other complications and that causality is unclear, and the company added enhanced liver monitoring. The disclosure surfaced in late Tuesday trading and hit both BMS and Contineum, whose lead program is in the same LPA1 class; both recovered Wednesday. BMS still expects full admilparant results by the end of 2026, which makes that readout a test of whether the first new fibrosis drug class in a decade arrives with a liver asterisk.
What else happened in life sciences on September 30?
ADARx closed its IPO. An 8-K dated September 28 confirmed the closing: 26,250,000 shares at $17.00 for roughly $446.3 million gross, plus a 5,255,542 share private placement with AbbVie for roughly $89.3 million. The filing did not state the greenshoe outcome.
GSK’s September window for its mRNA flu Phase 3 closed without a start announcement. GSK’s September 1 release said the Phase 3 trial of FLUm3HA.b-3NA, the first Phase 3 mRNA flu candidate targeting both hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, would start in September 2026. As of Wednesday evening, no start announcement had appeared on GSK’s newsroom or the wires (our check covered public announcements, not trial site activity).
Abbott launched SimpleScreen CRC. The Freenome developed, FDA approved blood test for colorectal cancer screening is now available for average risk adults 45 and older, with Medicare Part B coverage at no out of pocket cost. Pivotal data in more than 48,000 asymptomatic adults showed 81.1% sensitivity for colorectal cancer (63.5% for stage I) and 90.4% specificity, with 13.7% sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions. It joins the stool based Cologuard Plus in Abbott’s screening portfolio.
Amgen’s daxdilimab posted a lupus Phase 2 win. Fierce Biotech reported a roughly 6 point drop in disease severity scores behind the Horizon acquired antibody’s systemic lupus trial, with Scrip reporting Phase 3 preparation in discoid lupus. Figures are per trade reporting; Amgen has not published a detailed release.
Merck’s tulisokibart met its endpoints in hidradenitis suppurativa. The anti TL1A antibody met primary and key secondary endpoints in a Phase 2b trial in moderate to severe disease, per Merck’s release, the first Phase 2 win for the class in dermatology. Clinical Trials Arena reported a concurrent miss in systemic sclerosis associated lung disease.
Regeneron brought extended muscle preservation data to Milan. Per Reuters, 52 week data from the COURAGE maintenance phase, presented Thursday at EASD, showed trevogrumab preserved the majority of the lean mass otherwise lost on semaglutide. We are not printing specific figures because the wire carry’s dose labels conflict with Regeneron’s earlier release; we will grade the dataset when the company publishes it.
Which stocks moved on the day’s news?
Settled closes for Wednesday, September 30, 2026. Moves are our arithmetic from exchange settled closes.
| Ticker | Close | Move | Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| LLY | 1157.08 | −2.3% | First session after the retatrutide TRIUMPH-2 release, on the same day as the EloraTZP and ACHIEVE-4 releases; the market sold the deepest dataset day in the obesity race |
| CTNM | 13.42 | +16.7% | Round trip: recovered Tuesday’s admilparant readacross slide after analysts called the liver concern overdone |
| QURE | 24.16 | −1.4% | Second session after the AMT-130 48 month data; Tuesday’s 37.3% repricing held rather than extended |
| KOD | 94.80 | +4.0% | Third session after DAYBREAK; the market keeps adding to the dosing interval repricing |
| VNDA | 4.91 | −2.4% | First reaction to a met Phase 3 in delayed sleep wake phase disorder; the market saw limited economics in the win |
Frequently asked questions
What is EloraTZP?
EloraTZP is Eli Lilly’s combination of eloralintide, a selective amylin receptor agonist, with tirzepatide, its dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro. Lilly plans Phase 3 trials of a single combined formulation starting by the end of 2026.
How much weight did EloraTZP patients lose in the Phase 2 trial?
Up to 23.3% of body weight (54.1 lb) over 48 weeks at the highest dose combination, eloralintide 9 mg plus tirzepatide 15 mg, in adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes. Tirzepatide 15 mg alone produced 14.8% and placebo 3.0%.
Is EloraTZP better than retatrutide?
The trials cannot be compared directly. EloraTZP’s 23.3% came from a 48 week Phase 2 in 367 people; retatrutide’s 20.8% came from an 80 week Phase 3 in 1,152 people. Both are Lilly assets, and both exceeded every weight loss figure previously reported in a type 2 diabetes population.
What was the downside in the EloraTZP data?
Tolerability. Discontinuations for adverse events ran from 10.8% to 27.0% across the combination arms versus 2.9% on tirzepatide 15 mg alone, with gastrointestinal events concentrated during dose escalation. Lilly says Phase 3 will use an optimized dose escalation schedule. Placebo discontinuation was 16.7%, which softens but does not erase the gap.
What is Foundayo?
Foundayo is Lilly’s brand name for orforglipron, a once daily oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist approved for type 2 diabetes and in commercial rollout. ACHIEVE-4 is its largest and longest Phase 3 trial, designed to establish cardiovascular safety.
Did ACHIEVE-4 show orforglipron protects the heart?
It showed noninferiority, not superiority. The primary endpoint hazard ratio of 0.84 met the noninferiority bar but was not statistically significant for superiority (p=0.336). Preplanned analyses showed 53% lower cardiovascular death and 57% lower all cause mortality versus insulin glargine, but in an open label trial against insulin, those are supportive signals, not proof of protection. The ongoing ATTAIN-OUTCOMES trial is the dedicated outcomes test.
Why does a cardiovascular safety trial against insulin matter?
Regulators expect cardiovascular safety evidence for new diabetes drugs, and insulin glargine is a standard comparator for a population needing escalation. Passing lets orforglipron carry reassuring cardiovascular data into a primary care launch, where an oral option without injection logistics is expected to compete directly with injectable incretins.
What did the OCTANE study show?
Adults who switched from injectable semaglutide or tirzepatide to the oral Wegovy pill lost a further 4.1% of body weight over three months in a real world analysis of 194 patients from the Ro telehealth platform. It is retrospective and uncontrolled, but it suggests switching to the pill did not mean giving back weight.
What is the GLOBE rule?
A mandatory CMS payment model, finalized September 30, that benchmarks rebates for separately payable Medicare Part B drugs to international prices in randomly selected regions covering about a quarter of Original Medicare beneficiaries, from January 2027 through March 2032. The final rule excludes orphan only drugs, plasma derived products, certain cell and gene therapies, and marketed biosimilars.
How many states signed the GENEROUS Medicaid deal?
Forty states plus Puerto Rico as of CMS’s September 18 update, with every state, DC, and Puerto Rico having applied. The signing deadline was September 30; a final count had not been published as of Wednesday evening.
Who can get Camzyos after the pediatric expansion?
Adults and pediatric patients ages 12 to under 18 weighing at least 30 kg (66 lb) with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The expansion rests on the SCOUT-HCM trial, where Camzyos cut the Valsalva LVOT gradient by 48.0 mm Hg more than placebo at Week 28 in 44 adolescents.
Is admilparant’s liver signal a class problem for LPA1 drugs?
Unknown. One death from liver injury with unclear causality and a limited number of liver related events prompted enhanced monitoring in the Phase 3 extension, per BioPharma Dive. Contineum, which develops a drug in the same class, slid on the readacross Tuesday and recovered 16.7% Wednesday. Full admilparant results are expected by the end of 2026.
What is SimpleScreen CRC and how accurate is it?
A blood based colorectal cancer screening test developed by Freenome and commercialized by Abbott, launched September 30. In a pivotal study of more than 48,000 average risk adults it showed 81.1% sensitivity for colorectal cancer, 63.5% for stage I disease, and 90.4% specificity, with 13.7% sensitivity for advanced precancerous lesions, which is why guidelines still favor colonoscopy and stool tests first.
Did uniQure’s stock keep falling after the 48 month Huntington’s data?
No. QURE closed at 24.16 Wednesday, down 1.4% in the second session, holding rather than extending Tuesday’s 37.3% repricing. The next catalyst is the FDA’s BLA acceptance decision expected around early November.
When does Lilly plan to file retatrutide and start EloraTZP Phase 3?
Per Lilly’s releases: a US regulatory submission for retatrutide in type 2 diabetes and obesity is planned for the first quarter of 2027, and Phase 3 trials of co formulated EloraTZP are set to begin by the end of 2026.
Sources
Primary sources (September 30, 2026): Eli Lilly press release, EloraTZP Phase 2b results (10:15 am ET); Eli Lilly press release, ACHIEVE-4 results (6:00 pm ET); Novo Nordisk press release, OCTANE real world analysis; Novo Nordisk press release, CagriSema EASD 2026 analyses; CMS press release, GLOBE Model final rule; Bristol Myers Squibb press release, Camzyos expanded indication (5:32 pm ET); Abbott press release, SimpleScreen CRC launch; Merck press release, tulisokibart Phase 2b; ADARx Pharmaceuticals Form 8-K (September 28); GSK press release, mRNA flu Phase 3 advancement (September 1).
Trade and wire reporting (attributed): Endpoints News (GLOBE savings projections); BioPharma Dive (admilparant liver disclosure); Fierce Biotech and Scrip (Amgen daxdilimab); Clinical Trials Arena (tulisokibart SSc miss); Reuters (COURAGE 52 week data); Medical Daily (GENEROUS state count, per CMS September 18 announcement).
Market data: exchange settled closing prices, September 30, 2026.
