Topline: Zepbound Is Approved for Sleep Apnea Eli Lilly, the pharmaceutical company that won FDA approval last year for its weight-loss drug Zepbound, scored a big win Friday when the agency approved the drug as the first prescription medication for sleep apnea.

Important Information

Eli Lilly reported in a press statement that adults diagnosed with "moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity" are now qualified to receive a medication known as Zepbound to improve their sleep.

The United States Food and Drug Administration approved prescribing Zepbound in overweight or obese adults in November 2023.

As per the news, adults using Zepbound lost on average 45 pounds, and as an Eli Lilly announcement notes, they experienced about 25 fewer breathing disruptions per hour as they slept as opposed to those receiving a placebo.

According to the National Council on Aging, common symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea include loud snoring, gasping for air while asleep, dry mouth, and daytime tiredness. It is a very common disorder where the upper airway is obstructed while you are asleep.

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Big Number

39 million. That's about how many American adults have obstructive sleep apnea, according to the.

Key Background

Zepbound is a GLP-1 receptor agonist that is a class of medication used in the treatment of diabetes and weight loss. It acts by inhibiting appetite, thereby reducing blood sugar and A1C. The third drug approved for weight loss was Zepbound, after Wegovy and Saxenda. The FDA granted Zepbound "fast track" status to explore its use for adults who are overweight or obese with comorbidities, such as sleep apnea, in 2022, around the same time when weight-loss medications were beginning to rise. In April of this year, Eli Lilly said that late-stage study of Zepbound was promising in helping to treat sleep apnea symptoms among obese adults. This further enhances the perception that weight-loss drugs can benefit beyond weight loss. In the past, the CDC has warned that sleep apnea can give people an increased risk of several cardiovascular diseases such as coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, and irregular heartbeats. According to the Mayo Clinic, a CPAP machine provides air pressure through a mask as one sleeps and is the most common and effective treatment for sleep apnea; however, other treatments do exist, and in severe cases or when one cannot tolerate sleeping with a mask, other treatments include surgery.

Forbes Appraisal

According to Forbes, Eli Lily has a market value of $731.8 billion, revenues recorded this year stand at $35.9 billion with profits standing at $6.1 billion and assets being $63.9 billion. It is, therefore, ranked at 174th position in the ranking of Global 2000 companies by Forbes this year. The pharmaceutical and biotechnology company also appeared at number seven of the list of Best Companies in America by Forbes for year 2025.