Novo Nordisk A/S is undercutting archrival Eli Lilly & Co. on obesity drugs for cash-pay patients, showing its willingness to compete on price as it tries to claw back a larger share of the U.S. market.
Starting Monday, introductory doses of Novo’s blockbusters Wegovy and Ozempic are available for $199 a month, the Danish drugmaker said. The price applies to the first two months of treatment; after that, Novo will offer the drugs via its NovoCare direct-to-consumer portal for $349 a month, 30% less than the current self-pay price. That matches Lilly’s price for a low dose of its obesity shot Zepbound and is less than the price of higher doses.
Shares of Novo Nordisk rose less than 1% in Copenhagen on Monday, while Lilly’s shares were down less than 1% in New York.
The price cuts will also make Novo’s drugs more competitive with copycat medicines from compounding pharmacies. Versions from telehealth companies like Hims & Hers Health Inc. have gained popularity for their lower prices and broad availability when there were shortages of the brand-name treatments.
Roughly 1.2 million Americans continue to get the compounded versions, said Dave Moore, Novo’s U.S. chief.
“People can start to make the move from the compounded fake copies back to the branded medicines,” he said. “We’re getting down to price levels that are not too different.”
The aggressive pricing comes after Novo lost its top spot in the U.S. to Lilly, in a global market analysts predict could reach $100 billion by the end of the decade. Lilly’s Zepbound has proven more effective than Novo’s Wegovy in clinical trials, giving it an edge, and the U.S. drugmaker was first to pursue innovations such as direct-to-consumer selling.
Both companies also agreed earlier this month to cut their U.S. prices in a deal with the Trump administration that applies to both Medicare and cash-pay customers. As part of that agreement, Lilly will trim what it charges for Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, by $50 a month. It currently charges $349 a month for the low dose of Zepbound and $499 a month for a higher dose for direct-pay customers.
The Trump deal goes into effect next March, however. Novo’s price drop is immediate and effective through the end of March.
Moore described the price cut as a bridge over the transition period until the lower prices go into effect. It will apply anywhere consumers fill their prescriptions, ultimately including President Trump’s eponymous platform TrumpRx.
“I think we would be remiss to not give the administration credit for shining a spotlight on pricing in general,” GoodRx Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Wendy Barnes said in an interview. “It’s motivated our pharma partners and brought forward some conversations.”
GoodRx, which provides discounts on medications, is working with Novo to make the lower prices available to more consumers, including at its more than 70,000 retail pharmacy partners nationwide. The company is also rolling out a new telehealth offering in conjunction with Novo’s lower prices.
Both Novo and Lilly are preparing to launch weight-loss pills that could rival their popular injections in the coming months. Through the agreement with the Trump administration, the lowest doses of both companies’ weight-loss pills will cost $149 a month.
Kresge and Muller write for Bloomberg.
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