(Bloomberg) -- Eli Lilly & Co. is ramping up the fight against cheaper, copycat versions of Zepbound by lowering prices for a version of its blockbuster obesity drug.
The company is reducing the cost of its 2.5 milligram and 5 milligram Zepbound vials to $349 and $499 a month, respectively, according to a statement. That’s about $50 less than current prices.
Patients who don’t have insurance coverage for weight-loss drugs, including those on Medicare, are turning to vials because they are about half the list price of the standard, injector-pen version. These cheaper options have a trade-off, though, with users needing to fill a syringe and administer the medication themselves.
Lilly began offering Zepbound vials last year amid widespread supply shortages of weight-loss drugs, including ones made by rival Novo Nordisk A/S. The lack of access drove consumers to cheaper, compounded versions sold by telehealth companies like Hims & Hers Health Inc., who offer the drugs through a monthly subscription model.
“We’re really excited to announce something that’s based on consumer or patient input,” Patrik Jonsson, Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, said in an interview. “There’s more we can do, but this is a very important step, just providing a cheaper entrance point.”
Lilly shares rose as much as 2.1% in trading before US markets opened Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Lilly also made higher-dose vials of the drug up to 10 milligrams available for $499 a month, as long as patients refill their prescription within 45 days. Patients typically start on lower strengths of the medication before ramping up. Adding larger doses has the potential to encourage more use.
Copycat Versions
Hundreds of thousands of Americans have turned to compounded versions of weight-loss drugs, which are typically cheaper, but don’t go through the same rigorous approval process as brand-name or generic drugs.
Using lawsuits and public warnings, Lilly and Novo have campaigned to discourage use of the compounded versions. Both firms have asked the US Food and Drug Administration to ban them and said there are safety risks with using the copycat versions.
“By lowering the price, we hope that we are opening the opportunity for more patients to really get access to FDA-approved medicine,” Jonsson said.
Lilly’s Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro were taken off the FDA’s shortage list last year, but ongoing litigation has allowed companies to continue selling copies for now. The regulator also said last week that a yearslong shortage of Novo’s Ozempic and Wegovy had ended.
Hims said late Monday that it will stop making some of its versions of the Novo drugs. While the company forecast 2025 revenue ahead of expectations, its shares fell 22% Tuesday before US markets opened. Novo rose as much as 5.6% Tuesday in Copenhagen.
Now that shortages of both Lilly and Novo’s drugs have ended, Jonsson said he sees “no reasons for any knockoff versions” of weight-loss shots moving forward.
Patients with a prescription can get the vials through Lilly’s direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, or through telehealth partners like Ro. About 10% of new Zepbound patients are utilizing the self-pay vials. It’s mostly people who aren’t insured or whose plans don’t cover obesity drugs, according to Jonsson.
Jonsson said that Lilly is open to additional partnerships with companies that “want to make sure that patients get access to FDA-approved medicines under the right conditions.”
(Updates with shares, Hims halt of some drug copies from sixth paragraph.)
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