As Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have been battling it out to gain market share of the growing GLP-1 weight loss market, one demographic has been seen as increasingly important: cash-pay customers.
These individuals, who are either underinsured or lack health insurance altogether, would normally find it difficult to afford the high list prices of Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) or Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy (semaglutide). Not wanting to ignore a potential major revenue stream, both of the drug giants now offer a one-month supply of their respective drugs — through their own direct-to-consumer pharmacies — for $499. Both medicines are also available through the telemedicine platform Hims & Hers Health (HIMS), and Novo just announced a partnership with GoodRx.
The discounted price is also seen as a way to combat copycat, compounded versions of tirzepatide and semaglutide. Although the U.S. FDA has determined that a shortage of both drugs is over, copycats are still being produced. Manufacturing drugs that are still under patent protection is only permitted when a medicine is in shortage.
The lower price is also likely a way to appease President Trump, who is cracking down on the high costs of drugs in the U.S.
A Novo spokesperson told Fierce Pharma that cash sales represent about 10% of overall Wegovy sales.