A box of Ozempic and Wigovy manufactured by Novo Nordisk at a pharmacy in London on March 8, 2024.
Holly Adams | Reuters
novo nordisk announced Monday that it will reduce direct-to-consumer prices for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy and diabetes drug Ozempic, reinforcing efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the treatments more accessible.
The Danish drugmaker will reduce the price of the drug for existing patients who pay in cash from $499 to $349 per month. However, Novo Nordisk said the cash cost for the highest dose of Ozempic would remain at $499 per month.
Also on Monday, Novo Nordisk launched a temporary introductory offer. This will give new patients who pay cash access to the two lowest doses of Wigoby and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment. After that period, you will transition to the new standard monthly direct price. The company’s introductory offer ends on March 31st.
The announcement came days after President Donald Trump struck a deal with arch-rival Novo Nordisk. Eli Lilly The goal is to make the popular GLP-1 drug more easily available and affordable for Americans. These agreements include lowering the prices the government pays for drugs, introducing Medicare coverage for obesity drugs for certain patients for the first time, and offering discounts on drugs on the government’s new direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, which launches in January.
“Our new discount benefits are effective immediately and will result in even greater cost savings for those who are currently uninsured or choose to pay out-of-pocket,” Dave Moore, head of Novo Nordisk’s U.S. operations, said in a release. “This is part of a larger strategy to expand access, including building relationships with telehealth providers and major retailers, expanding coverage, and working with governments to reduce costs for people with chronic conditions such as obesity.”
The Trump administration said the first dose of existing injectable drugs, such as Wegoby and Eli Lilly’s weight-loss drug Zepbound, costs $350 per month on TrumpRx but “trends down” to $245 per month over two years.
The deal was announced on the same day Eli Lilly announced it was cutting prices by $50 on its direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound at a discount to cash-paying patients. Zepbound’s multi-dose pen can be purchased for $299 per month for the lowest dose, with additional doses priced up to $449 per month.
Novo Nordisk’s new cash payment offer is available through Wegovy.com or Ozempic.com, the company’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy, NovoCare, and other participating organizations and telemedicine providers that work directly with drug manufacturers. costco, Good RWeightWatchers, Ro, LifeMD, eMed.
