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Novo Nordisk A/S is selling its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy to new patients starting at $199 a month as easy access to cheaper copycats comes to an end.
The one-time offer—available through June 30—is intended for patients who were taking copycat, or compounded, versions of Wegovy. On Thursday, pharmacies were supposed to stop making the copies of the medications that had become popular during shortages of the brand-name drugs.
“We are doubling down on our commitment to accessibility, availability, and affordability of authentic, FDA-approved Wegovy,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations for Novo, said in a statement.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans came to rely on cheaper, compounded versions of weight-loss shots during supply shortages last year. Those drugs don’t undergo the same Food and Drug Administration approval process as branded or generic drugs.
After shortages of Novo’s drugs ended earlier this year, the FDA said pharmacies had until May 22 to stop producing copycat versions.
Moore urged stakeholders, including the FDA, state boards of pharmacy and law enforcement to take action to uphold “the highest quality standards of care.”
Novo and rival Eli Lilly & Co. are now working with telehealth companies to distribute discounted versions of their drugs. First-time patients can get discounted Wegovy through several telehealth companies, including Ro and LifeMD Inc., which also charge a subscription fee.
In February, Lilly cut prices for patients paying for single-dose Zepbound vials without insurance by $50 a month for 2.5 milligrams, a common starting dosage, and 5 milligrams. The charge is $349 or $499 a month, respectively.
Total annual spending on GLP-1 drugs increased by more than 500% in five years, from $13.7 billion in 2018 to $71.7 billion in 2023. The greatest rate of growth—62%—occurred between 2022 and 2023. And that doesn’t include spending at compounding pharmacies.
By 2023, semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) products made up 70% of all U.S. GLP-1 spending.
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Until insurance companies cover it…the people that truly need it will never have access to it at those crazy prices.