Eli Lilly launches new, cheaper form of weight loss drug

Eli Lilly launched a new form of its weight-loss drug Zepbound on Tuesday for about half the usual monthly list price, in an effort to reach millions of patients who don't have coverage for the popular injection, such as those with Medicare.

The move is also intended to increase supply of Zepbound in the United States as demand is rapidly increasing, and to ensure that eligible patients can safely access the original drug as cheaper imitation products become increasingly common.

The company currently offers single-dose vials of 2.5 and 5 milligrams of Zepbound through its website for $399 and $549 per month, respectively. Typically, patients begin treatment with a dose of 2.5 milligrams, gradually increasing the amount, and later taking so-called maintenance doses to maintain weight.

The list prices of Zepbound and other popular weight loss drugs such as Novo NordiskThe cost of the treatments Wegovy offers is about $1,000 a month before insurance and other discounts. These treatments are part of a blockbuster class of drugs called GLP-1, which mimic certain gut hormones to curb a person's appetite and regulate blood sugar.

Patients must use a syringe and needle to draw the drug from a single-dose vial – the version of Zepbound that Eli Lilly is launching on Tuesday – and inject themselves. That's different from single-dose auto-injection pens, the currently available form of all Zepbound doses, which patients can inject directly under the skin with the push of a button.

Eli Lilly has said the vials will create additional supply capacity because they are easier to manufacture than auto-injection pens.

The lower prices will benefit patients who are willing to pay for Zepbound themselves and who are covered by Medicare or an employer-sponsored health insurance plan that does not currently cover obesity treatments, Patrik Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, said in an interview.

He pointed out that Medicare beneficiaries also aren't eligible for Eli Lilly's savings card programs for Zepbound. One program allows people with insurance coverage for Zepbound to pay just $25 out of pocket, while another program allows people whose insurance doesn't cover the drug to pay just $550.

Having patients pay directly for single-dose vials of Zepbound “also enables a transparent price by excluding third parties in the supply chain,” the company added in a press release.

“There will be no price premiums and we think it is extremely important that consumers have this predictability in terms of pricing,” Jonsson said.

Patients with a valid prescription can purchase the single-dose vials in a new “self-pay pharmacy” section on the company’s direct sales site, LillyDirect. Eli Lilly partners with a third-party digital pharmacy, Gifthealth, that electronically processes prescriptions and packages and ships vials to eligible patients.

In addition, patients will have the opportunity to purchase syringes and needles on Eli Lilly's website and will have access to materials on how to properly administer Zepbound from a vial.

LillyDirect, which launched in January, connects people with an independent telemedicine company that can prescribe certain medications if patients are eligible. The site also offers a home delivery option if the prescribed treatment is an Eli Lilly drug, which involves using a third-party online pharmacy to fill prescriptions and send them directly to patients.

Eli Lilly said in a press release that distributing the vials through the website ensures that patients and healthcare providers receive “genuine” Zepbound. This builds on the company's efforts to “help protect the public from the dangers posed by the proliferation of counterfeit, fake, unsafe or untested imitations of Lilly's medicines,” the press release said.

During shortages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows pharmacies to make drugs that are essentially copies of brand-name drugs. Prescription drugs are customized alternatives to brand-name drugs that are specifically designed to meet the needs of a particular patient.

However, both Zepbound and Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro are protected by patents in the United States. The company does not sell the active ingredient in these two drugs, tirzepatide, to outside groups.

Eli Lilly has said this raises questions about what some pharmacies and other clinics are selling and marketing to consumers. Both the company and its rival Novo Nordisk have cracked down on illegal versions of their weight loss and diabetes treatments, suing wellness clinics, medical spas and pharmacies across the U.S. over the past year.

The FDA's drug shortage database now lists all doses of Zepbound as available. Still, Jonsson said thousands of online platforms have popped up in the past six months offering compounded versions of weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

“We believe that the U.S. population is actually a target for … untested, unapproved, unregulated anti-obesity drugs that we know do not always contain the active ingredient they are supposed to,” he said. “This is also an opportunity to ensure that consumers in need have access to FDA-approved, quality-tested tirzepatide.”