Zepbound may not be as widely known as its competitors, but the weight-loss drug may soon be more accessible than the rest.
Eli Lilly, the manufacturer of Zepbound, which is FDA-approved to help treat obesity and obesity with obstructive sleep apnea, announced on Tuesday that it’s making the drug cheaper via new, single, higher-dose vials sold on their direct-to-consumer website, reports CNBC. Here’s why the move may benefit you if you’re uninsured, on Medicare, or lack coverage for weight loss treatments.
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Cheaper Zepbound Will Be Available on LillyDirect
Since Aug. 2024, Eli Lilly has been selling low doses—2.5 and 5 milligram vials—of Zepbound on it’s direct-to-consumer website, LillyDirect. Launched in Jan. 2024, the site connects patients with independent telehealth providers for prescriptions, features a “self-pay pharmacy,” and offers home delivery through a third-party.
Now, Eli Lilly has announced it will sell single-dose vials of Zepbound on the site that have a much higher dose: 7.5 and 10 milligrams.
Patients who have been diagnosed with obesity or obesity and obstructive sleep apnea are eligible to buy these vials directly on the site. For their first prescription, the cost for the new higher-dose vials is $499 for the month. If they refill it within 45 days, the cost will remain the same. Otherwise, the 7.5 mg vial is $599 and 10 mg is $699.
These new options are offering a significant cost savings to Eli Lilly’s lower dose alternatives. For this reason, the company also announced on Tuesday that they’ve cut $50 off the cost of those to be $349 for 2.5 mg and $499 for 5 mg.
These reductions are possible, Eli Lilly says, because these single-dose vials are easier to manufacture (they require patients to self-administer the medication using a syringe and needle) than Zepbound’s more expensive autoinjector pens, which cost roughly $1,000 per month before insurance but allow patients to self-administer with a push of a button.
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What Obesity Patients Need to Know
For those who are willing to pay out of pocket for Zepbound, are currently on Medicare, or do not have weight loss treatments covered under their health insurance, these cheaper prices can be the difference between getting weight-loss help or not.
Patrik Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly diabetes and obesity, told CNBC that this is one of the reasons Eli Lilly is trying to make Zepbound more accessible.
“We are, in the absence of full coverage for people suffering from obesity like other chronic diseases, we are just trying to fill that room and provide a more affordable solution, particularly for the Medicare population because none of our affordability solutions can be applied to them,” he said.
Jonsson also hopes that this will discourage people from resorting to “knockoffs that are not approved by the FDA for safety, efficacy and quality.”
Still, he argues that significant policy changes are still needed to ensure affordability for millions of Americans struggling with obesity.
If you are considering weight-loss treatment, talk to your doctor about your available options.
