Allison Stange lost 40 pounds since starting Zepbound in April 2024, improving both her blood pressure and sleep apnea. Now she fears a deal struck between CVS Health Corp. and Novo Nordisk A/S will undo all that progress.

Customers at CVS will be able to buy weight loss drug Wegovy at a discount. Cash purchasers can get the Novo Nordisk made product for $499 per month. The pharma company has also recently struck deals with major telehealth companies.

The deal could expand access to its in-demand obesity drug at the expense of Eli Lilly, whose shares fell by double digits on Thursday.

People prescribed GLP-1 agents liraglutide (Saxenda) or semaglutide for weight loss decreased their alcohol intake by almost two-thirds over 4 months, according to a real-world study presented at the European Congress on Obesity. ( Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism)

A new study found users of one drug lost almost 50 percent more weight that users of Wegovy. People taking Eli Lilly’s obesity drug, Zepbound, lost nearly 50% more weight than those using rival Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy in the first head-to-head study of the blockbuster medications.

Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) shares dropped on Thursday after lowering its full-year outlook amid a decision by CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) to limit access to the company’s popular weight loss drug, Zepbound, in favor of Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) rival drug,

Starting July 1, Wegovy will become the preferred GLP-1 for obesity treatment on CVS Caremark’s largest commercial template formularies, Novo said Thursday. CVS Caremark, which forms the eponymous pharmacy chain’s drug benefits unit, is the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the U.S., as Novo pointed out.

CVS’s stock surges toward a one-year high after profit and revenue beat expectations, amid strength in the pharmacy business, and the full-year outlook was raised.

Eli Lilly on Thursday downplayed CVS Health's decision to drop the company's obesity drug Zepbound from some lists of medicines it covers for reimbursement, but shares of the drugmaker still fell roughly 10% on investor worries that the move could blunt its sales momentum.

A version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.Despite last week's investor jitters,