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Eli Lilly cutting cost of certain weight loss drugs by at least 50%

By Daniel Miller
Published  August 29, 2024 11:42am EDT
Health
FOX TV Stations
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FILE-The Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. (AJ Mast/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Brief

    • Eli Lilly is reducing the cost of certain weight drugs like Zepbound due to a growing demand.
    • Single-dose vials will cost consumers 50% less than GLP-1 medicines used for obesity.
    • The pharmaceutical company is making the extra supply of certain weight loss drugs accessible to people who use it.

Eli Lilly is slashing the cost of certain weight loss drugs and selling them for half the price of other drugs. 

The pharmaceutical company said Tuesday that it is offering 2.5 mg and 5 mg single-dose vials of tirzepatide, sold under the brand name Zepbound, based on growing demand from consumers. 

Eli Lilly tells FOX Business that the new single doses are priced at a 50% or greater discount compared to the list price of all other GLP-1 medicines for obesity.

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According to FOX Business, GLP-1 agonists are a class of Type 2 diabetes drugs that improve blood sugar control but may also lead to weight loss. Semaglutide, which is the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's Wegovy and Ozempic, as well as tirzepatide, are considered GLP-1 drugs.

The drug company tells FOX business that the extra supply will help adults with obesity gain access to the medication they need, this includes people ineligible for the Zepbound savings card program, individuals without employer coverage and those who are paying outside of insurance.

Eli Lilly conducted a recent clinical trial that found that weekly shots of tirzepatide injections lowered the risk of progression to Type 2 diabetes by 94% among adults with pre-diabetes and obesity compared to the placebo.

In June, health officials issued warnings about fraudulent versions of popular weight-loss and diabetes medications.  Eli Lilly expressed their concerns in an open letter about the rise in fake or compounded versions of tirzepatide, which is used in its drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound. The company highlighted the danger of these fake drugs being promoted and sold online.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization revealed that it has received multiple reports of fake semaglutide distributed in parts of the world since 2022.

The Source 

  • Information for this story was provided by FOX Business. FOX Business received comments from Eli Lilly about the reduced cost of certain weight loss drugs and information from a recent clinical trial the pharmaceutical company conducted for tirzepatide. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.