Eli Lilly Zybound Pharmaceuticals on Tuesday launched a new form of its weight-loss drug Zybound at about half its usual monthly price, in a bid to reach millions of patients who don't have insurance coverage for the popular shot, such as those covered by Medicare.
The move also aims to expand Zepbound's supply in the U.S. as demand soars, and ensure eligible patients have safe access to the real treatment as cheaper copycat versions gain traction.
The company now offers single doses of Zebound in 2.5 mg and 5 mg doses for $399 and $549, respectively, through its direct-to-consumer website. Patients typically start with 2.5 mg, gradually increase the dose, and then take maintenance doses to maintain weight.
Price list of Zepbound and other popular weight loss drugs, such as: Novo NordiskWegovy’s diabetes treatments cost about $1,000 a month before insurance and other deductibles. They’re part of a popular class of drugs called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to suppress a person’s appetite and regulate blood sugar.
Patients will need to use a syringe and needle to draw the drug from a single-dose vial — the version that Eli Lilly’s Zybound will release Tuesday — and inject themselves. That’s different from single-dose auto-injector pens, the form currently available for all Zybound doses, which patients can inject directly under the skin with the push of a button.
Eli Lilly said the vials will create additional supply capacity because they are easier to manufacture than auto-injector pens.
The lower price points will benefit patients who are willing to pay for Zepbound themselves and who are enrolled in Medicare or employer-sponsored health plans that currently do not cover obesity treatments, Patrick Johnson, Eli Lilly's president of diabetes and obesity, said in an interview.
He noted that Medicare beneficiaries are also not eligible for Eli Lilly’s savings card programs for Zepbound. One program allows people with Zepbound insurance to pay at least $25 out of pocket.
The company is offering another offer for patients whose commercial insurance doesn’t cover the drug. Patients currently enrolled in the program can continue to pay at least $550 per month for Zepbound through the end of the year.
But starting Tuesday, the lowest cost of the drug for new patients joining the program will rise to $650 a month, according to an update on the company’s website. The price increase “will help sustain the program as Zipline coverage improves,” an Eli Lilly spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.
Enabling patients to pay directly for single-dose vials of Zepbound “also enables transparent pricing by removing third-party supply chain entities,” the company added in a statement.
“There will be no price increases, and we think that's very important … that consumers have that predictability in terms of pricing,” Johnson said.
A Zepbound injection pen from Eli Lilly & Co. is arranged in Brooklyn, New York on March 28, 2024.
Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Patients with a valid prescription can purchase single-dose vials from the company’s new “self-checkout pharmacy” section on its direct-to-consumer website, LillyDirect. Eli Lilly is partnering with a third-party digital pharmacy, Gifthealth, which will process prescriptions electronically as well as fill and ship vials to eligible patients.
People can also choose to purchase syringes and needles from the Eli Lilly 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 telehealth company that can prescribe certain medications if patients qualify. The site also offers a home delivery option if the prescribed medication is from Eli Lilly, using a third-party online pharmacy to fill the prescriptions and send them directly to patients.
Eli Lilly said in a statement that distributing the vials through the website will ensure that patients and healthcare providers have access to the “genuine” Zybound drug. This is based on the company’s efforts to “help protect the public from the risks posed by the spread of counterfeit, unsafe or untested Lilly medicines,” according to the statement.
During shortages, the FDA allows specialty drugstores to manufacture generic versions of drugs that are essentially exact copies of brand-name drugs. Compound drugs are specially designed alternatives to brand-name drugs designed to meet a specific patient's needs.
But both Zepbound and Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro are under patent protection in the United States, and the company doesn't offer the active ingredient in those drugs, tirzepatide, to outside groups.
Eli Lilly said this raises questions about what some compounding pharmacies and other clinics sell and market to consumers. The company and rival Novo Nordisk have stepped in to address the illegal versions of weight-loss and diabetes treatments, filing lawsuits against wellness clinics, medical spas and compounding pharmacies across the United States over the past year.
Now, all Zepbound doses are listed as available in the FDA’s drug shortage database. However, thousands of online platforms offering combination versions of weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have popped up over the past six months, according to Johnson.
“We believe that the U.S. population is actually a target for untested, unapproved, unregulated anti-obesity drugs that we know are far from what they are supposed to be,” he said. “This is also an opportunity to ensure that FDA-approved, quality-certified tirzepatide is accessible to consumers in need.”
