By Peter Loftus
A price battle has broken out in the hot market for weight-loss drugs.
Eli Lilly LLY 0.70%increase; green up pointing triangle and Novo Nordisk NOVO.B -5.37%decrease; red down-pointing triangle, the pharmaceutical heavyweights selling the popular injections, are each dangling discounts to gain an edge and to induce health plans to pay up. The concessions are slashing as much as half off the price tags of the $1,000-plus-a-month medicines.
For people who pay out of pocket, Lilly recently introduced vials of its drug Zepbound that cost as little as $399 a month.
Price concessions are a new, major development in the burgeoning market for weight-loss drugs, after high prices and limited supplies led many health plans to refuse coverage and prompted some patients to turn to lower-priced but unapproved custom-made versions.
The moves could prod more health plans to begin paying for the medicines. That would help some workers who are clamoring for the drugs—but unable to afford them without health insurance—to finally be able to fill prescriptions.
Kailey Wright delayed filling a prescription for Zepbound injection pens after her pharmacy told her she would have to pay about $600 out of pocket for a month’s supply because her employer-based insurance didn’t cover it.
After Lilly introduced the lower-cost vials, Wright opted instead to pay $399 cash for a one-month supply of vials, using Lilly’s online service, LillyDirect, which ships directly to patients. She took her first dose this month.
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