Bins of Ozempic and Wegovy made by Novo Nordisk at a pharmacy in London on March 8, 2024.
Hollie Adams | Reuters
Novo Nordisk on Monday mentioned it has reduce the direct-to-consumer costs of its blockbuster weight reduction drug Wegovy and diabetes counterpart Ozempic, including to efforts by the corporate and the Trump administration to make the therapies extra accessible.
The Danish drugmaker is decreasing the worth of the medication for present cash-paying sufferers to $349 monthly from $499 monthly. However Novo Nordisk mentioned the cash-pay value of the very best dose of Ozempic will stay $499 monthly.
Additionally on Monday, Novo Nordisk launched a brief introductory provide, which is able to enable new cash-paying sufferers to entry the 2 lowest doses of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 monthly for the primary two months of remedy. After that interval, individuals transfer to the brand new commonplace month-to-month direct-to-consumer value. The corporate’s introductory provide ends on March 31.
The bulletins come days after President Donald Trump struck offers with Novo Nordisk and chief rival Eli Lilly to make their fashionable GLP-1 medication simpler for People to entry and afford. These agreements will contain slicing the costs the federal government pays for the medication, introducing Medicare protection of weight problems medication for the primary time for sure sufferers and providing discounted medicines on the federal government’s new direct-to-consumer web site launching in January referred to as TrumpRx.
“Our new financial savings provides present fast influence, bringing ahead higher value financial savings for many who are presently with out protection or select to self-pay,” mentioned Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s head of U.S. operations, mentioned in a launch. “It’s half of a bigger technique to broaden entry that features constructing relationships with telehealth suppliers and main retailers, increasing protection, and dealing with the Administration to decrease prices for individuals residing with continual ailments like weight problems.”
The Trump administration mentioned beginning doses of present injections like Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s weight reduction drug Zepbound might be $350 monthly on TrumpRx, however will “pattern down” to $245 monthly over a two-year interval.
On the day the offers had been introduced, Eli Lilly mentioned it would decrease costs by $50 by itself direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already provides Zepbound at a reduction to cash-paying sufferers. The multidose pen of Zepbound might be accessible at $299 monthly on the lowest dose, with extra doses being priced as much as $449 monthly.
Novo Nordisk’s new cash-pay provides can be found by Wegovy.com or Ozempic.com, the corporate’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy, NovoCare, and different taking part organizations and telehealth suppliers that work straight with the drugmaker, together with Costco, GoodRx, WeightWatchers, Ro, LifeMD and eMed.
