New York, Feb 17, 2026, 11:36 EST — Regular session.
- Eli Lilly shares rose about 0.9% to around $1,049 in late-morning trading.
- A company executive said Lilly wants India to become a supply-chain hub to “supply the world.”
- Investors are watching for fresh detail at a CFO appearance on March 2.
Eli Lilly and Company shares rose $9.45, or 0.9%, to $1,049.45 in late-morning trading on Tuesday after the drugmaker put India at the center of a plan to feed its global supply chain. “We are actually looking at India to be a hub … supplying the world,” Lilly India president Winselow Tucker told Reuters. (Reuters)
Why it matters now: Lilly’s stock has become a read-through on whether the obesity-drug boom can keep throwing off growth without running into supply bottlenecks or sharper price fights.
Anything that hints at more manufacturing capacity — or faster rollout in big new markets — tends to show up quickly in the shares, even when the update comes from outside the U.S.
Lilly has said it plans to export drugs manufactured in India to global markets, backed by a $1 billion investment commitment in contract manufacturing, and it intends to bring additional products to India including its Alzheimer’s treatment donanemab. (Investing)
Separately, Lilly said on Monday it notched a late-stage trial win for Retevmo (selpercatinib) in a genetic subtype of non-small cell lung cancer. The company said the study hit its primary endpoint on event-free survival — the length of time patients live without the cancer returning or death — in an adjuvant setting, meaning treatment given after surgery or other definitive therapy to cut recurrence risk. Lilly said overall survival data were not mature yet and more data will be shared later. “Cancer medicines can deliver their greatest impact when administered early,” said Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology. (PR Newswire)
The oncology update offers another reminder of what bulls want to see: more drivers beyond diabetes and obesity, even if weight-loss medicines still dominate the day-to-day narrative around the stock.
A lot of that narrative is now global. Investors are watching where Lilly can manufacture at scale, how quickly it can ship, and whether it can keep pricing power as new entrants and new formats crowd the market.
In India, the pressure point is clear. Local firms are preparing cheaper, generic versions of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy after Novo’s semaglutide patent expires in India next month, and Novo cut Wegovy’s price by up to 37% last year to defend share, Reuters reported. Tucker said Lilly’s Mounjaro was “priced … for value,” and the company has leaned on partnerships and digital channels to broaden reach beyond big cities. (The Economic Times)
Competition with Novo Nordisk remains the backdrop, especially as both companies push to widen access and move into more convenient formats. Any sign of price erosion — in India or elsewhere — would test how far the market is willing to pay up for the obesity trade.
The next near-term catalyst is March 2, when Lilly CFO Lucas Montarce is scheduled to speak at TD Cowen’s health care conference. The company said the session will be webcast and replayed. (Nasdaq)
For now, traders are looking for whether management adds detail on supply plans, market expansion and the cadence of upcoming data releases — starting with what Montarce says on March 2.
