Ozempic dupes draw employer interest as pricey drugs weigh on plans
RTO for GLP-1s… Open-enrollment season is upon us, and employers are sniffing out ways to offer one of the most in-demand perks — weight-loss meds — without getting clobbered by their cost. Injectables like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Ozempic and Eli Lilly Mounjaro cost $1K+/month. Now bargain versions of the GLP-1s (priced at ~$200/month) offered by telehealth companies including Hims & Hers and Noom have garnered employer interest. Hims shares jumped 29% after it announced it would offer compounded GLP-1s this year.
Compounding pharmacies like those that supply Hims make custom meds for patients (think: removing allergens). They can also address drug shortages by making dupes until the FDA says a shortage is over.
Work perk: 25%+ of employers are considering adding coverage of weight-loss drugs in the coming years. Employer healthcare costs are projected to jump 9% in 2025.
Compounding problems… A shakeup could be coming for weight-loss copycats, which have been allowed to boom as brand-name shortages persist. The FDA earlier this month said the two-year shortage of tirzepatide (the substance in Zepbound and Mounjaro) was over and Eli Lilly sent hundreds of cease-and-desist letters to compound producers and sellers. But then the FDA said pharmacists could keep making dupe versions as its shortage decision is tied up in court. Last week, Novo Nordisk asked the FDA to ban its copycats, saying its drugs were too complex to be replicated safely.
Profit taking can create openings… and competition can fill them quickly. Researchers this year found that Ozempic could be produced at a profit for less than $5/month — or less than 1% of its current price. That major markup has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and allowed telehealth cos and compounding pharmacies to make big $$ while demand exceeds supply.