Eli Lilly cuts weight loss drug costs by 50%

Company officials expressed hope that the new plan would help ease the supply shortage of Zepbound and other GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.

Mir Ali MD, a bariatric surgeon and medical director of the MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in California, agreed that the new program should be helpful because demand for weight-loss drugs still exceeds supply.

“If the drug becomes more affordable, more people will be able to access it,” Ali told Healthline.

Other experts also praised the program as a contribution to meeting the demand for weight-loss drugs.

“People living with obesity have long been denied access to the essential treatment and care needed to manage this serious chronic disease,” said James Zervios, chief operating officer of the Obesity Action Coalition, in a statement.

“Improving treatment coverage and affordability is critical for people with obesity. We applaud Lilly for leading the way in providing an innovative solution that brings us closer to achieving equitable care. Now is the time for policymakers, employers and insurers to work with pharmaceutical companies to ensure no one gets the care they deserve and need,” Zervios added.

Caroline Apovian, MD, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-director of the Center for Weight Management and Wellness at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts, told Healthline that while the new Eli Lilly Zepbound plan isn't optimal, it should still make the weight-loss drug more affordable and accessible.

“I hope other companies will try to lower the prices of our new obesity and type 2 diabetes drugs that are offered on a self-pay basis,” Apovian said.

Consumers using Eli Lilly's savings plan must have a valid, written prescription for Zepbound from their doctor.

Company representatives said this requirement is necessary to ensure that customers do not use the drug for cosmetic weight loss.

They added that they hoped easier access to Zepbound would deter people from using unproven, cheap drugs to treat obesity.

Ali urged companies to be vigilant against consumers who use alternative medications or who use the drugs for purposes other than treating obesity and other serious weight management problems.

“The drug still requires a prescription from a legitimate provider. However, there will always be people seeking this drug for inappropriate use,” he said.

Representatives of Novo Nordisk, the maker of weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, told Healthline that the key to making these drugs more affordable is expanding consumer coverage through insurance companies and government programs.

“The most effective way for the millions of Americans living with obesity to access affordable medicines is to ensure coverage through public and private health insurance,” a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told Healthline.

“We will not stop advocating for health insurance until all Americans have full coverage for obesity drugs and it becomes the rule, not the exception.”

“Novo Nordisk supports additional legitimate options because it creates safer care for Americans living with obesity and is evidence of the significant unmet need to address obesity as a serious, chronic disease,” the spokesperson added.

Zepbound and Mounjaro contain the active ingredient tirzepatide, a glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIP) and a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1). Both are manufactured by Eli Lilly.

Zepbound is approved as a weight loss drug. Mounjaro is approved to treat type 2 diabetes.

Novo Nordisk offers two injectable weight loss medications, both of which contain the active ingredient semaglutide, a GLP-1 drug. Ozempic is prescribed to treat type 2 diabetes, while Wegovy is used as a weight loss medication.

Novo Nordisk also produces Rybelsus, a daily tablet containing semaglutide used to treat type 2 diabetes in adults.

All of these drugs have shown good results in clinical trials.

Last week, researchers reported that in a clinical trial, Zepbound and Mounjaro were effective in helping people with obesity or weight problems maintain their weight over a three-year period while significantly reducing their risk of progressing from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.

In May 2023, researchers reported that Wegovy helped reduce obesity in half of teenagers in a 68-week clinical trial.

In addition, Ozempic has been shown to reduce the risk of death from kidney disease as well as the risk of certain types of cancer.

Some studies have shown that medications containing trizepatide may be more effective for weight loss than those containing semaglutide.

Eli Lilly announced that single-dose vials of the weight loss drug Zepbound will be sold at a discount of 50% or more.

Consumers who pay for medications out of pocket and do not have insurance must purchase these products through the LillyDirect program and also have a valid prescription from their doctor.

Experts say the new program represents a step forward in making weight-loss drugs more accessible and affordable.