Lilly targets treatment parity in developing nations by 2040

Eli Lilly launched the Lilly Change the Course Commitment on September 28, 2026. The global initiative aims to achieve treatment parity by 2040. The company plans to treat as many diabetes and obesity patients in resource-limited settings and low- and middle-income countries as it treats in high-income countries.

Today, for every four people in high-income countries with access to Lilly's diabetes and obesity therapies, only one person in low- and middle-income countries receives them. The company stated that four in five adults with diabetes and seven in ten adults with obesity live in lower-income nations, where conditions continue to rise.

To close this gap, Lilly will focus on clinical development, regulatory registration, and primary healthcare system strengthening across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. CEO David A. Ricks highlighted Foundayo, also known as orforglipron, an oral room-temperature treatment approved by the FDA for chronic weight management, as a key driver to scale distribution.

The commitment follows the completion of Lilly's previous 30x30 program five years ahead of schedule. That initiative reached 40 million people in resource-limited settings in 2025, beating its original target of 30 million people annually by 2030.