April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug

Administration website showed that most doses of Eli Lilly's ( LLY )

diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound

would be in limited supply through the second quarter of this

year due to increased demand.

The health regulator's website noted limited availability of

the 5 milligram (mg), 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg and 15 mg doses for

both the drugs. The 2.5 milligram doses for the treatments were

listed as available.

Previously, some doses of both the drugs were expected to be

available in limited quantities through April. Doses of Mounjaro

have been available in limited amounts since February.

Increasing demand for a type of highly effective diabetes

and weight-loss treatment known as GLP-1 agonists has led to

supply constraints for drugmakers such as Lilly and Novo Nordisk

.

Lilly earlier this month said it continues to manufacture

and ship all doses of Zepbound but due to soaring demand for

these medicines, some patients could experience difficulty when

trying to fill their prescriptions at pharmacies.

Lilly did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for

comment.

Mounjaro has been approved since 2022 for patients with

type-2 diabetes to control their blood sugar levels. It was

approved in the U.S. for weight loss under the brand name

Zepbound late last year.

Separately, Lilly said earlier on Wednesday that tirzepatide

- the active ingredient in both Mounjaro and Zepbound - helped

ease symptoms of a common sleep-related breathing disorder

across two late-stage studies.