Novo Nordisk has quickly expanded its discounted Wegovy program, now offering all eligible cash-paying customers its popular weight-loss med at $499 per month.
Novo had only launched the cheaper Wegovy option earlier this month originally through its own NovoCare Pharmacy and at that time indicated an expansion to traditional retail channels “in the near future.”
Now, less than three weeks later, all cash-paying patients can purchase any Wegovy injection doses—from 0.25mg to 2.4mg—at their local pharmacies for $499 for a 28-day supply, Novo said Monday. The new price tag marks a further cut from Novo’s previous policy that offered self-pay patients Wegovy at a cost of $650 per month.
Patients enrolled in government-funded healthcare programs are not eligible for this offer. Most patients with insurance that covers Wegovy may pay as little as $0 to $25 a month out of pocket for the drug, according to Novo.
“With the evolution of our Wegovy savings program, we continue to deliver options that empower people living with obesity to more easily pursue their weight management and health goals,” Dave Moore, Novo’s EVP of U.S. operations and global business development, said in a statement Monday.
Novo initially followed rival Eli Lilly’s footstep in introducing its $499-per-month Wegovy outside of commercial insurance. A month ago, Lilly unveiled $499 offerings of its rival weight-loss drug Zepbound exclusively through the company’s LillyDirect Self Pay Pharmacy Solutions. Since then, the Indianapolis pharma has been offering Zepbound 2.5mg dose at $349 per month, or $499 per month for the 5 mg, 7.5 mg and 10 mg doses for self-pay patients.
With the latest expansion to regular retail pharmacy, Novo is now one step ahead of Lilly.
The two obesity drugmakers, battling it out over a potential megablockbuster market, rolled out their self-pay programs as compounding pharmacies have been selling copycat versions of the GLP-1 meds amid a global shortage.
As the FDA has recently removed semaglutide and tirzepatide—the two drugs used in Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively—off its drug shortage list, GLP-1 compounders have sued the FDA, claiming that the agency had wrongfully declared the end of the GLP-1 drug shortage. Lilly and Novo have both got involved in the lawsuits.
The FDA released a statement last week again laying out concerns over unapproved versions of Wegovy and Zepbound because of the lack of oversight for safety, effectiveness and quality.
The agency flagged several adverse events, some of which required hospitalization, that may be related to dosing errors of compounded injectable semaglutide products.
As of the end of February, the FDA counted 455 reports of adverse events with compounded semaglutide and 320 such reports with compounded tirzepatide.
Besides the two marketed drugs, the FDA also highlighted Lilly’s experimental GIP/GLP-1/glucagon triple agonist retratrutide, saying it cannot be used in compounding under federal law.
The FDA’s statement “further closes the doors on compounders,” Citi analysts said in a note last week.