Eli Lilly developed Mounjaro and Zepbound, medicines whose active ingredient is tirzepatide.
Eli Lilly and Company was founded in Indianapolis in 1876 by Colonel Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical chemist and Union army veteran. The company built a reputation for producing medicines with consistent quality and later became a major global pharmaceutical manufacturer.
Mounjaro received United States approval in 2022 for type 2 diabetes. The same active ingredient, tirzepatide, was approved under the brand name Zepbound for chronic weight management in 2023. Demand for medicines in this area helped make Eli Lilly one of the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical companies by market capitalization.
A frequent mix-up is with Novo Nordisk, whose leading medicines use semaglutide rather than tirzepatide. Brand names and approvals differ by country, so regulatory labels should be checked for a specific market.