Roche passed on weight-loss pilll now being developed by Eli Lilly, FT says

Roche (RHHBY) turned down a potentially $14B-a-year weight-loss pill that is now being developed by Eli Lilly (LLY), giving the company a leading position in the weight-loss market, Oliver Barnes and Ian Johnston of The Financial Times reports, citing the company filings and people close to discussions. In 2018, Roche decided to not take advantage of its “right of first refusal” to purchase a type-two diabetes pill from drugmaker Chugai, with which it has a 20 year-long partnership. The drug was ready to enter early Phase 1 trials and was valued at tens of millions of dollars, two people familiar with the matter said. Instead, it was bought by Eli Lilly for $50M and became orforglipron. The medication is still in trials but could be approved by 2026 and is expected to generate $50B in global revenues.