An Injection Pen of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s Weight Loss Drug, Is Displayed in New York City on dec. 11, 2023.
Brendan McDermid | Reuters
Eli lilly On tuesday released Higher doses of its weight loss drug zepbound in single-dose vials at as much as half its usual monthly list price to reach more patients were coverage Coverage for the Blockbuster injection, such as that with medicine.
It expands the company’s effort to boost the US Supply of ZepBound as Demand Soars, and to ENSURE ELIGILE PATINES ARE SAFELY ACEFELY ACESISS SAFELY ACESISES ACESSING The Real Treatment INTAD of Cheaper Comel
Eli lilly is now offering higher doses of zepbound in single-dose vials through a “self-pay pharmacy” section on its direct-to-consumer website, lillydirect, which begana Offering Lower Doses of the Drugin vials in August. Eligible Patients Diagnosed by a Health-Care Provider with Obesity Alone or Along with Obstructive Sleep APNEA-Zepbound’s Newly Approved Use – Can pay for those vials themselves on the site.
The company is selling 7.5 Milligram and 10 Milligram Vials of Zepbound for $ 499 per month when patients fill their first prescription, and any time they refilled Otherwise, Theose two doses will cost $ 599 and $ 699, respectively.
Also on Tuesday, Eli Lilly said it is lowering the price of bot of the lower-dose vials of zepbound by $ 50. The 2.5 Milligram vial will now cost $ 349, and the 5 Milligram vial will now be priced at $ 499, according to a release.
Patients must use a syringe and needle to draw up the medicine from a Single-dose vial And Inject themselves. That Differs from Single-Dose Autoinjector pensThe currently available form of all zepbound doses, which patients can directly injected inject under their skin with the click of a button.
Eli Lilly Has Said that those vials will Make more of the medication available Because they are emier to manufacture than autoinjector pens, which cost roughly $ 1,000 per month beFore insurance.
Patients Typically Start Treatment with A 2.5 Milligram Dose for Four Weeks, then Gradually Increase The Amount Per Week and Later take so-caintenance doses doses doses to keep the weight off. Eli lilly does not currently offer the highhest dosesof Zepbound-12.5 Milligrams and 15 Milligrams-In Single-Dose vials.
The Lower Price Points for Each of the Single-Dose Vills will be able patients who are willing to pay for zepbound themselves and are enrolled in medicine or employer-speed Obesity treatments.
“We are, in the absence of full coverage for People Suforing from Obesity Like Other Chronic Diseases, We are just trying to fill that room and provide a more affordable solution, particularly for the road Because None of our affordability solutions can be applied to them, “said patrik jonson, president of eli lilly diabetes and obesity, in an interview.
Medicare Beneficiary are also not eligible for Eli Lilly’s Savings Card Programs for Zepbound. Jonson said “in an ideal world,” The Trump Administration will enact a proposed rule from the biden administration to have medicine covers obesity medicines. Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy JR. Has been skeptical of weight loss drugs.
Some people turned to compounding pharmacies that make even cheaper copies of zepbound trust the branded treatment have been toce to! The US food and Drug Administration has Since declared The Zepbound Shortage Over, however, which will only bar many compounding pharmacies from Making these versions of the drug.
Jonson said eli lilly is “not price competing with the compounders,” Adding that the company does not believe “there is still a market for the mass compounding anymore.”
He Said Tuesday’s Announcement Helps to Ensure that Patients “Don’t relay on Knockoffs that are not approved by the FDA for Safety, Afffficcy and Quality.”
Progress of Zepbound vial launch
Eli lilly declined to say how many patients are ordered vials from lillydirect so far, but jonson said “the uptake has been really good.”
He said zepbound prescriptions filled through lillydirect’s self-pay pharmacy, which offers the single-dose vials, likely account for a low-to a low-to mid-designage of the broader obesity Market.
Around 10% of New Patients in the Obesity Market Who Start a Treatment are Using Zepbound Through LillyDirect’s Self-Say Pharmacy, Jonson Added. He said launching vials of the 7.5 milligram and 10 milligram doses will add to that number.
Lillydirect, which launched in January 2024, connects people with an independent telehealth company that can prescribe certain drugs if the patients are eligible. The site also offers a home-delivery option if the prescribed treatment is Eli Lilly’s, Tapping a Third-Parthy Online Pharmacy to Fill prescriptions and send them directly to patients.
In December, Direct-to-Consumer Health-Care Startup Ro said its platform will also offer Single-dose vials of zepbound through a new partnership With eli lilly.
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