Eli Lilly releases new form of weight loss drug Zepbound for half the price to boost access, supply

Eli Lilly on Tuesday released a new form of its weight loss drug Zepbound for roughly half its usual monthly list price to reach millions of patients without insurance coverage for the popular injection, such as those with Medicare. 

The move also aims to expand the supply of Zepbound in the U.S. as demand skyrockets, and to ensure eligible patients are safely accessing the real treatment as cheaper copycat versions gain traction. 

The company is now offering 2.5-milligram and 5-milligram single-dose vials of Zepbound for $399 per month and $549 per month, respectively, through its direct-to-consumer website. Patients typically start treatment with a 2.5-milligram dose, gradually increase the amount and later take so-called maintenance doses to keep the weight off.

The list prices of Zepbound and other popular weight loss drugs, such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, are around $1,000 per month before insurance and other rebates. Those treatments are part of a blockbuster class of medications called GLP-1s, which mimic certain gut hormones to tamp down a person's appetite and regulate blood sugar. 

Patients need to use a syringe and needle to draw up the medicine from a single-dose vial — the version of Zepbound Eli Lilly is releasing Tuesday — and inject themselves. That differs from single-dose autoinjector pens, the currently available form of all Zepbound doses, which patients can directly inject under their skin with the click of a button.

Eli Lilly has said the vials will create additional supply capacity because they are easier to manufacture than autoinjector pens.

The lower price points will benefit patients who are willing to pay for Zepbound themselves and are enrolled in Medicare or employer-sponsored health plans that do