US Stock Market Move | Experimental oral weight-loss drug Orforglipron approval process expected to accelerate significantly, Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY.US) surges over 2%.

On Monday, Eli Lilly's (LLY.US) stock price rose, with the stock up over 2% to $1049.84 as of the time of writing. On the news front, the approval process for the company's experimental oral weight loss drug orforglipron is expected to significantly accelerate, with the earliest possible regulatory decision from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) possibly by the end of March 2026. According to media reports citing relevant documents, FDA officials are pushing for review staff to speed up the evaluation process for the drug. The documents disclosed that the FDA had considered shortening the acceptance evaluation time from the current 60 days to 1 week under its "expedited review voucher" program, although the final adjustment was made to two to three weeks, it is still significantly faster than the original process. The accelerated approval pace means that the potential approval time for orforglipron may be moved up from the original plan of mid-May 2026 to the end of March. This has significant implications for Eli Lilly's competitive position in the rapidly growing weight loss drug market.