With weight loss drugs in high demand, Eli Lilly is significantly lowering the price of its drug Zepbound in a move to make it easier for people to get their hands on it. The drugmaker is dropping the prices for its two lowest doses of the weight loss medication. However, it will only come in single-dose vials that users have to load into a syringe themselves.
Zepbound and other similar weight loss drugs usually come in self-contained injector pens.
Under the new pricing plan, a month’s supply of the lowest dose, 2.5 mg, will cost $399 dollars, while a month’s supply of the 5 mg dose will cost $549. That is a big difference from a monthly list price of $1,059, regardless of the dosage.
Use of tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Zepbound, to lose weight has skyrocketed in popularity, leading to shortages. It also led some people who cannot get a prescription or whose insurance does not cover it to use versions made by compounding pharmacies, which can be dangerous.
The new single-dose vials will only be available through the company’s telehealth platform, LillyDirect, to those who pay out of pocket.
