Hey, did you hear about the new Alzheimer’s drugs that target the protein amyloid? Yeah, apparently they’re a game-changer! But wait, there’s a catch. You know there’s always a catch. The insurance coverage rules are stricter than your mom’s curfew back in the day.

But fear not, my friend. CMS, the government-backed senior care administers, is about to come through with some broad reimbursement that will make these expensive treatments accessible to patients. Phew, crisis averted.

And get this, Eli Lilly is expected to release phase three trial data on their latest anti-amyloid therapy, donanemab, by the end of June. It might even get full approval to come to market, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Eli Lilly’s Asay, who oversees their relationship with the agency, is confident that CMS will provide “outright coverage” like they do for every other FDA-approved medication. Well, if Asay says it, it must be true, right?

And speaking of true, Lilly’s shares climbed more than 2% on Friday, setting a new all-time intraday high of over $383 each. I mean, who needs a good day on Wall Street when you’ve got Eli Lilly?

But what are these CMS policies for anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s drugs, you ask? It’s a two-fold process. For those approved under the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway, patients need to also be participating in a clinical trial to obtain CMS coverage. And for those with full FDA approval, the agency will pay if patients enroll in a registry that collects data on effectiveness and safety. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

The FDA has never granted full approval to any anti-amyloid treatments, but hopefully, a commercially successful Alzheimer’s drug would be material for Eli Lilly and strengthen its long-term position. There’s some skepticism from medical experts who think targeting amyloid is not an effective way to treat Alzheimer’s, but hey, you can’t please everyone.

Eli Lilly and other pharmaceutical giants have spent years and billions of dollars studying drugs that aim to clear amyloid plaque, which they believe can help slow the disease. But some experts disagree. Let’s hope they’re wrong because, at this point, we’ll try anything.

And don’t even get me started on donanemab’s efficacy. Lilly has expressed optimism around it, citing the results of Leqembi’s trials as reason for additional confidence. But unlike Leqembi, Eli Lilly may not be able to obtain accelerated approval for donanemab because, well, let’s just say it didn’t meet an FDA threshold for patient enrollment. Oops.

Even with all this Alzheimer’s drug talk, Eli Lilly’s pursuit of an effective treatment for type 2 diabetes is still at the heart of our investment thesis in the company. Mounjaro is that superstar drug that could potentially become the best-selling drug of all time, according to Jim Cramer. And let’s be real here, who doesn’t love a good success story?

Eli Lilly is set to report earnings soon, and we’re eagerly awaiting fresh commentary around their drug pipeline. And let’s not forget about Novo Nordisk’s study results. Positive results could help further establish a market for obesity drugs made by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Fingers crossed!

In conclusion, Eli Lilly is on the move, and we’re all here for it. Just remember, no specific outcome or profit is guaranteed. So keep those stock market safeties on, folks.

Serious News: cnbc