Popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound are seeing price reductions, but patients still face significant barriers to sustained access despite strong market demand.
What Happened: The medications cost around $500 monthly for uninsured patients, while insured coverage remains inconsistent across plans. “Coverage is not the same as access,” said Beverly Tchang, a New York-based physician who advises both Novo Nordisk A/S NVO and Eli Lilly and Co. LLY, reported the Associated Press.
GLP-1 receptor agonists continue driving substantial revenue for both drugmakers. Zepbound generated $2.3 billion in U.S. first-quarter sales, while Wegovy contributed nearly $1.9 billion with approximately 200,000 weekly prescriptions domestically.
Insurance coverage varies dramatically by provider and plan type. Novo Nordisk reports that 85% of covered U.S. patients pay $25 or less monthly. However, most state Medicaid programs and Medicare exclude obesity coverage, forcing patients to shoulder hundreds in out-of-pocket costs monthly, according to the report.
Why It Matters: The regulatory landscape remains complex regarding compounded versions. Despite FDA determinations that drug shortages ended, compounding pharmacies continue selling cheaper alternatives under personalization exceptions.
Hims & Hers Health Inc. HIMS offers compounded semaglutide starting at $165 monthly, leading to legal challenges from Eli Lilly.
Recent pricing trends show that both companies reduced uninsured patient costs by several hundred dollars from initial launch prices. However, $500 monthly represents approximately 14% of the average U.S. per-capita income at $43,000 annually.
Long-term adherence data reveals persistence challenges that could impact market expansion. Real-world studies show only 8.1% of patients maintained GLP-1 obesity therapy after three years, though one-year persistence for Wegovy improved from 33.2% in 2021 to 62.7% in 2024.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Tobias Arhelger / Shutterstock.com
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