Eli Lilly cuts cash prices of Zepbound weight loss drug vials

Eli Lilly It said Monday it is lowering cash prices for single-dose vials of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform, LilyDirect, in line with efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the drug more accessible.

This announcement also comes a few weeks after its main rival Novo Nordisk unveiled additional discounts on the cash prices of its obesity and diabetes medicines.

Starting Monday, patients paying cash with a valid prescription can get a starting dose of Zepbound vials on LilyDirect for as little as $299 per month, down from the previous price of $349 per month. They can get the next dose, 5 mg, for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month, which is down from $499 per month at those sizes.

Zepbound’s list price is approximately $1,086 per month. That price point, and irregular insurance coverage for weight loss drugs in the US, have been significant barriers to access for some patients.

Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump signed a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make it easier for Americans to obtain and afford their GLP-1 drugs. The agreement will cut the prices the government pays for drugs, introduce Medicare coverage of obesity drugs for some patients for the first time and offer discounted drugs on TrumpRx, the government’s new direct-to-consumer website launching in January.

But Eli Lilly’s deal with Trump is focused on lowering the prices of a different form of Zepbound — a multi-dose pen — once it gets Food and Drug Administration approval.

That means Eli Lilly’s announcement Monday to cut prices for existing single-dose vials could allow more patients to get the discounted treatment more quickly.

“We will continue to work to provide more choices – expanding choices for delivery devices and creating new avenues for access – so more people can get the medicines they need,” Ilya Yufa, president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, said in a statement.

Eli Lilly’s stock, which has climbed more than 36% this year, fell about 2% on Monday. Its meteoric rise, led by the success of Zepbound and its diabetes injection Monjaro, made it the first health care company to reach a $1 trillion market value last month. Although price cuts mean less revenue per drug sold, Eli Lilly’s sales – and shares – have continued to grow as demand balloons through past pricing announcements.

With single-dose vials, patients need to use a syringe and needle to draw out the medication and inject it inside themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced that form of Zepbound in August 2024.

It is unclear how many patients are currently using single-dose vials of Zepbound. But Eli Lilly previously said direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of Zepbound’s new prescriptions.

Novo Nordisk earlier this month cut the price of its obesity drug Vegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic from $499 a month to $349 a month for existing cash-pay patients. This does not include the highest dose of Ozempic.

The company also launched a temporary introductory offer that will allow new cash-paying patients to access the two lowest doses of Wegovi and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.