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STAT+: After Eli Lilly granted one man special access to obesity drug, doctors struggle to get answers
Last month, STAT reported that Eli Lilly granted a single 79-year-old patient special access to retatrutide, an unapproved obesity drug that has demonstrated bariatric-surgery levels of weight loss.
Since then, at least a handful of clinicians have tried to seek the same access for their patients. Two of them haven’t received answers from the drugmaker for weeks; one heard back on Monday, only after STAT reached out to Lilly with questions for this story, that his patient might qualify for access to the drug.
The lack of clarity from Lilly raises new questions about why the company gave extraordinary access to an experimental obesity drug to a single patient. Clinicians are calling for more transparency from Lilly on whether the company plans to expand access, or whether this was a one-time, special circumstance.
Last month, STAT reported that Eli Lilly granted a single 79-year-old patient special access to retatrutide, an unapproved obesity drug that has demonstrated bariatric-surgery levels of weight loss.
Since then, at least a handful of clinicians have tried to seek the same access for their patients. Two of them haven’t received answers from the drugmaker for weeks; one heard back on Monday, only after STAT reached out to Lilly with questions for this story, that his patient might qualify for access to the drug.
The lack of clarity from Lilly raises new questions about why the company gave extraordinary access to an experimental obesity drug to a single patient. Clinicians are calling for more transparency from Lilly on whether the company plans to expand access, or whether this was a one-time, special circumstance.