Eli Lilly slashes Zepbound vial prices on its direct-to-consumer platform
It’s the latest move in an ongoing price war between the two drugmakers that sell the incredibly lucrative medications.
Eli Lilly slashed the cash-pay price for its blockbuster obesity drug as it pushes forward on a pricing war with rival Novo Nordisk.
Lilly said Monday that it would bring down the price for its obesity shot Zepbound through its direct-to-consumer pharmacy. This comes two weeks after Novo slashed the cash-pay price for its own weight-loss shot, Wegovy.
Starting Monday, cash-paying patients can pay $299 to $449 per month for Zepbound, depending on the dose, down from $349 to $499 per month. Unlike Novo, Lilly sells cash-paying patients vials of Zepbound, which are cheaper to manufacture than single-shot pens.
Both Lilly and Novo’s weight-loss and diabetes shots have list prices upward of $1,000. By cutting out middlemen like insurers, they are able to sell the drugs directly to patients at lower prices.
The two companies are fighting for market share not only with each other, but also with telehealth companies like Hims & Hers, which sell copycat versions of the drugs. Hims sells a monthly dose of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo’s drug, for about $200 a month, often paid up front for multiple months.
Both Lilly and Novo announced agreements with the Trump administration last month to lower the prices the government pays for the drugs and offer the discounted shots on TrumpRx, a government direct-to-consumer platform slated to launch next year.
