New York, Feb 18, 2026, 11:32 EST — Regular session
- Eli Lilly shares slipped roughly 1.8% in early trading, trailing the broader market.
- Lilly posted late-stage trial data showing results from a combination of its obesity drug Zepbound and psoriasis therapy Taltz.
- Lilly’s blockbuster drugs are in focus as investors gauge both the pace of new use-case rollouts and how well the company can defend its pricing with competitors closing in.
Eli Lilly and Company slipped roughly 1.8% Wednesday, despite unveiling new late-stage results for its Zepbound-Taltz combo. By 11:32 a.m. EST, shares were off $18.19 at $1,017.86. The S&P 500 was up about 0.8% at that point, though healthcare names lagged, ticking down.
This shift is key: Lilly’s growth prospects are tied to how aggressively it can expand its obesity franchise past just diabetes and weight loss. The company’s ability to translate fresh data into product labels, stoke demand, and lock in sustainable pricing will determine how far that story goes.
The weight-loss space keeps drawing in new contenders. Investors are showing less patience for pricey, mega-cap pharma stocks that deliver solid data but no real movement, particularly when the big trigger now hangs on a regulatory decision—not new science from the pipeline.
Lilly reported that pairing Zepbound with its psoriasis treatment Taltz led to stronger results for both skin and weight compared to Taltz on its own, according to data from a Phase 3b trial aimed at backing label updates. Out of 274 patients enrolled, 27.1% using the combination achieved total skin clearance along with at least 10% weight loss after 36 weeks. That figure dropped to just 5.8% for those given only Taltz, the company said. (Reuters)
According to a company statement, 40.6% of patients who received the combination therapy hit complete skin clearance on the PASI 100 scale—a key secondary endpoint—compared with 29.0% for those on Taltz alone. Adrienne Brown, who leads Lilly’s immunology unit, described the outcome as “far more than a clinical milestone.” Trial investigator Mark Lebwohl noted that psoriasis and obesity are “too often treated in silos.” Lilly plans to publish full results and present them to regulators. (PR Newswire)
Outside the clinic, Lilly’s focus has shifted to manufacturing and access. Speaking with Reuters, a senior executive said the firm aims to make India “a hub” in its global supply chain. The company is pushing ahead with its earlier $1 billion pledge to ramp up contract manufacturing, and maintains that Mounjaro’s price is “appropriate”—even as Novo Nordisk contends with imminent generic threats in India. (Reuters)
Lilly just picked up another pipeline option this week through a licensing pact. Australia’s CSL is giving Lilly rights to develop and sell clazakizumab—an IL-6 antibody targeting inflammation—handing over the asset for $100 million upfront, with more possible through milestones and royalties. CSL is touting clazakizumab as a “promising therapeutic candidate.” (Reuters)
The psoriasis data was topline, and the trial ran open-label—patients and doctors both aware of the assigned treatments. That setup leaves questions about how well these results will translate once they’re outside a trial. Still hanging over the story: familiar hurdles like reimbursement, rivals in the space, and whether real-world demand will actually push product out the door at scale.
Investors are already looking past today’s numbers, turning their focus toward the calendar. The U.S. FDA is set to rule in April on Lilly’s experimental oral weight-loss drug, orforglipron. The company, a filing showed, has amassed $1.5 billion in pre-launch inventory for the pill. (Reuters)
