Eli Lilly On Tuesday, the company released a new version of its weight-loss drug Zepbound that's priced at roughly half the monthly list price in an effort to reach millions of patients who don't have insurance coverage for the popular injectable, such as patients with Medicare.
The move is aimed at expanding the supply of Zepbound in the U.S., as demand for it is rapidly growing, and to ensure that eligible patients are safely receiving the genuine treatment, as cheaper imitation versions are becoming popular.
The company is now selling single-dose Zepbound vials of 2.5 mg and 5 mg for $399 per month and $549 per month, respectively, through its direct-to-consumer website. Patients typically begin treatment with a 2.5-mg dose, gradually increase the amount and later take a so-called maintenance dose to keep the weight off.
List price of Zepbound and other popular weight loss drugs, such as Novo NordiskAs for 'Wegovie,' it costs about $1,000 per month before insurance and other discounts. These treatments are part of a blockbuster class of drugs called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to reduce a person's appetite and regulate blood sugar.
Patients have to draw the drug from a single-dose vial using a syringe and needle — the version of Zepbound Eli Lilly is releasing Tuesday — and inject themselves. This is different from single-dose autoinjector pens, the currently available form of all Zepbound doses, which patients can inject directly under their skin with the click of a button.
Eli Lilly has said these vials will create additional supply capacity because they are easier to manufacture than autoinjector pens.
Patrick Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, said in an interview that the lower price would benefit patients who are willing to pay for Zepbound themselves and are enrolled in Medicare or employer-sponsored health plans that currently do not cover obesity treatments.
Medicare beneficiaries also are not eligible for Eli Lilly's savings card programs for Zepbound, he said. One program allows people with insurance coverage to pay just $25 out of pocket for Zepbound, while another allows people whose insurance doesn't cover the drug to pay as little as $550.
The company said in a release that letting patients pay directly for single-dose vials of Zepbound “helps achieve transparent pricing by eliminating third-party supply chain entities.”
“There will be no markup, and we think that's very important … that consumers have that predictability in terms of pricing,” Johnson said.
Eli Lilly and Company Zepbound Injection Pen arranged on March 28, 2024, in the Brooklyn borough of New York.
Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Patients with a valid prescription can purchase single-dose vials from a new “self-pay pharmacy” section on the company's direct-to-consumer site, LillyDirect. Eli Lilly is partnering with GiftHealth, a third-party digital pharmacy, which will electronically process prescriptions as well as package and ship vials to eligible patients.
People can also purchase syringes and needles from Eli Lilly's website and will also have access to materials to properly administer Zepbound from the vial.
LillyDirect, launched in January, connects people with an independent telehealth company that can prescribe certain medications if patients qualify. If the prescribed treatment is from Eli Lilly, the site also offers a home-delivery option, which uses a third-party online pharmacy to fill prescriptions and send them directly to patients.
Eli Lilly said in a release that distributing vials through the site will ensure that patients and healthcare providers are receiving “genuine” Zepbound. According to the release, this builds on the company's efforts to “help protect the public from the risks posed by the circulation of counterfeit, counterfeit, unsafe or untested Lilly medicines.”
During shortages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration allows compounding pharmacies to make versions of medications that are essentially copies of brand-name drugs. Compounded medications are custom-made alternatives to branded drugs that are designed to meet the needs of a specific patient.
But both Zepbound and Eli Lilly's diabetes drug, Monjaro, are under patent protection in the U.S. The company does not supply the active ingredient in both drugs, tirzepatide, to outside groups.
Eli Lilly has said this raises questions about what some compounding pharmacies and other clinics are selling and marketing to consumers. Both the company and its rival Novo Nordisk have taken steps to address illegal versions of their weight loss and diabetes treatments, suing wellness clinics, medical spas and compounding pharmacies across the U.S. last year.
All doses of Zepbound are now listed as available in the FDA's drug shortage database. Still, according to Johnson, thousands of online platforms offering compounded versions of weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have popped up in the past six months.
“We believe the U.S. population is really being targeted by … untested, unapproved, unregulated anti-obesity medications that we know don't always contain the drug that should be there,” he said. “This is also an opportunity to make sure that consumers in need have access to FDA-approved, quality-approved tirzepatide.”