Los Angeles: Eli Lilly said on Monday it would allow a limited number of patients to have early access to its experimental obesity drug, retatrutide, before its U.S. FDA approval. The spokesperson added that Lilly has built an expanded access program "that does that and are actively reviewing requests from health ​care providers." STAT News was the first to report on the expanded access program. It had previously also reported that the company granted a single 79-year-old patient special ‌access to retatrutide. The company plans to file for approval for retatrutide with the FDA in the first quarter of next year.