GLP-1 drugs will provide significant tailwinds for drug distributors

24 April 2025

Drug distributors like Cardinal Health, Cencora and McKesson will play a key role in the drug supply chain, improving patient access to healthcare, according to Morningstar.

The financial services company newly published “US Drug Distribution Industry Landscape” report, indicates that GLP-1 drugs will continue to drive growth for these companies in 2025, but the decline in generic drug prices weighs down distributors’ margins.

GLP-1s (diabetes and weight-loss drugs) provided significant tailwinds for all three distributors during 2024, and we expect this trend to continue. The leading medicines in the sector are Novo Nordisk’s (NOV: N) semaglutide, marketed under the trade names Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound.

This article is accessible to registered users, to continue reading please register for free. A free trial will give you access to exclusive features, interviews, round-ups and commentary from the sharpest minds in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology space for a week. If you are already a registered user please login. If your trial has come to an end, you can subscribe here.

Try before you buy

Free

7 day trial access

Take a Free Trial

All the news that moves the needle in pharma and biotech
Exclusive features, podcasts, interviews, data analyses and commentary from our global network of life sciences reporters.
Receive The Pharma Letter daily news bulletin, free forever.

Become a subscriber

£820

Or £77 per month

Subscribe Now

Unfettered access to industry-leading news, commentary and analysis in pharma and biotech.
Updates from clinical trials, conferences, M&A, licensing, financing, regulation, patents & legal, executive appointments, commercial strategy and financial results.
Daily roundup of key events in pharma and biotech.
Monthly in-depth briefings on Boardroom appointments and M&A news.
Choose from a cost-effective annual package or a flexible monthly subscription

The Pharma Letter is an extremely useful and valuable Life Sciences service that brings together a daily update on performance people and products. It’s part of the key information for keeping me informed

Chairman, Sanofi Aventis UK