Novo cuts Wegovy drug prices, others coming

Novo Nordisk is chopping prices again for Wegovy, and its competitor is also planning its own price cut soon.

The drugmaker said Monday that it has started selling higher doses of the injectable obesity treatment for $349 a month to patients paying the full bill. That’s down from $499, and in line with terms of a drug pricing agreement outlined earlier this month by President Donald Trump’s administration.

Novo also started a temporary offer of $199 a month for the first two months of low doses of Wegovy and the drug’s counterpart for diabetes, Ozempic. The new pricing will be available at pharmacies nationwide, through home delivery and from some telemedicine providers.

Rival Eli Lilly also plans price breaks for its weight-loss drug Zepbound once it gets a new, multi-dose pen on the market. Lilly has said it will sell a starter dose of Zepbound for $299 a month and additional doses at up to $449. Both represent $50 reductions from current prices for sales directly to patients.

Obesity treatments like Zepbound and Wegovy have soared in popularity in recent years. Known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness.

In clinical trials, they helped people shed 15% to 22% of their body weight — up to 50 pounds or more in many cases. But affordability has been a persistent challenge for patients.

A recent poll by the nonprofit KFF found that about half of the people who take the treatments say it was hard to afford them.

Both Lilly and Novo announced price cuts earlier this year that brought the cost of higher doses of their treatments down to around $500 a month.

Previous research has shown that people have difficulty paying for a medication when the cost rises above $100 per month, said Stacie Dusetzina, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor and prescription drug pricing expert.

Coverage is slated to improve starting next year for at least one big payer under a deal announced by the Trump administration. The federally funded Medicare program, mainly for people ages 65 and older, will begin covering the treatments for people who have severe obesity and others who are overweight or obese and have serious health problems.

Those who qualify will pay $50 copays for the medicine.



(AP Photo JoNel Aleccia)