Eli Lilly and Company’s GLP-1 Weight Loss Drug Is Now Available in the US for as Low as $25

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One of the biggest hurdles to the mass appeal of a new class of GLP-1 weight loss drugs remains their sky-high prices. Insurance coverage, however, is playing a fundamental role in addressing these affordability concerns, with Eli Lilly and Company coming out today with important price updates for those with insurance coverage in the US.

Glucagon-Like Peptide-1, or GLP-1 for short, plays an important role in regulating hunger. These drugs stimulate the release of insulin in the pancreas, block the unhelpful release of glucagon after meals to prevent excess glucose from entering the bloodstream, and slow gastric emptying to reduce the overall food intake. Concurrently, GLP-1 receptors also suppress the brain's stress response and reward/reinforcement mechanism to increase the feeling of satiation.

Eli Lilly and Company sells its Tirzepatide GLP-1 cocktail under the Mounjaro and Zepbound labels. Without any insurance coverage, a monthly dose of Zepbound costs $1,060. In comparison, Novo Nordisk's comparable GLP-1 offering, Wegovy, costs around $1,300 without any insurance coverage.

This brings us to the crux of the matter. Eli Lilly and Company has now announced the following price updates:

Do note that Novo Nordisk's Wegovy GLP-1 offering is also available for around $25 per month in the US for those with specific coverage. The European pharma giant believes that around 50 million Americans could be eligible for Wegovy coverage.

Today's Zepbound price updates from Eli Lilly and Company serve as a critical step in establishing competitive parity with Novo Nordisk. As we've noted in a number