Several months ago, Ozempic's manufacturer indicated publically that the cost to produce monthly doses of the drug was approx $10. Of course, these guys can't crank the stuff out fast enough so why not have you inject with your own syringes!
BTW: In 1960 the national obesity rate was slightly over 10%. Today approximately 43% of Americans are classified as obese by the CDC. So instead of trying to re-introduce a healthy diet (similar to what Americans were enjoying 60 years ago) let's have everybody juice with semi-gludtides. Like my role model Oprah! Also BTW, in Denmark where Ozempic is manufactured, it's generally illegal to prescribe the drug for weight loss.
Eli Lilly to Sell New Zepbound Option for About Half Price of Injection Pens
Patients would draw their own doses of the weight-loss drug from glass vials that are easier to produce
By Peter Loftus, WSJ
Aug. 27, 2024 6:45 am ET
Eli Lilly will begin offering its popular new weight-loss drug Zepbound in vials—in addition to standard injection-pen devices—at about half the price of the original for certain doses.
To date, Zepbound has been packaged in a single device, an injection pen that contains both the drug and the needle. Patients press a button on one end to insert a needle on the other end that delivers the dose.
With the new vials, patients will use a syringe to draw out their dose and then to inject themselves.
Indianapolis-based Lilly said it is rolling out the vials largely to help boost overall supplies, in response to high demand, because vials are easier to make than injection pens.
“The key reason is supply,” said Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly’s cardiometabolic health unit. “We’ve seen unprecedented demand. The vials represent a new opportunity to increase supply.”
The vials will provide a more affordable option for the many people whose insurance still doesn’t cover anti-obesity drugs.
The vials will come in the two lowest doses of Zepbound. Four-week supplies will cost $399 for the 2.5-milligram dose and $549 for the 5-mg dose.
That compares with a $1,060 list price for a month’s worth of Zepbound injection pens. Some patients pay less than that because of insurance coverage or savings programs from Lilly. But others must pay full list price if their insurance doesn’t cover it and they aren’t eligible for Lilly’s savings programs.
Lilly’s vial move also takes aim at a competitive threat from lower-cost knockoffs sold by compounding pharmacies.
Compounding pharmacies are permitted to make alternative versions of prescription drugs when the original brand is in short supply, like Zepbound has been. Many patients have turned to compounded versions, also usually sold in vials, because they are cheaper and have been available at times when shortages have made the originals hard to find.
The lower prices for Zepbound vials are more competitive with what some people pay for compounded versions of weight-loss drugs. Good Life Meds, for instance, is offering a compounded version of Zepbound at a sale price of $279 a month, down from a $349 regular price, according to its website.
Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which makes the other leading anti-obesity drug called Wegovy, have challenged the safety of compounded versions of weight-loss drugs.
The Food and Drug Administration has said it can’t vouch for the safety and efficacy of compounded versions of the drugs. Both Lilly and Novo have taken legal action to try to block the sale of some compounded versions of the drug, or to force sellers to avoid using brand names to promote them, but many remain available.
With the move to offer Zepbound in vials, Lilly also takes aim at a competitive threat from lower-cost knockoffs sold by compounding pharmacies. Photo: AJ Mast/Bloomberg News
Getting Zepbound from a vial will involve more steps and parts for patients. They will have to use a separate syringe to draw the drug out of the vial, and then inject it into themselves.
The FDA approved Lilly’s plan to sell Zepbound in vials in March. The FDA approved packaging that will contain detailed instructions on how patients can safely administer the drug from a vial.
Each vial contains a single dose for a weekly injection, which should help guard against overdoses. Patients can draw the entire vial’s contents into the syringe and don’t have to measure out doses.
Lilly will sell its vials only through its new online service LillyDirect, which offers direct home delivery of Zepbound and other Lilly drugs. The site also will sell syringes and needles to use with the vials.
Patients will need a valid prescription for the FDA-approved use of the drug, for chronic weight management in people with high body-mass indexes.
The vials could be particularly helpful for patients with Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for older adults and some disabled people, because its prescription-drug benefit doesn’t cover anti-obesity drugs such as Zepbound when used for weight loss alone.
In addition, Medicare members are ineligible for direct copay assistance from drugmakers because the government generally views it as a kickback.
Zepbound doses higher than 5 mg will still come only in injection pens, so the lower-dose vials might not be a cost-effective option for people who have to take the higher doses. Typically, patients start on the lowest dose for the first month, then gradually increase the dose up to as high as 15 mg a week.
Write to Peter Loftus at Peter.Loftus@wsj.com
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