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Americans spent an estimated $71.7 billion on GLP-1 drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy in 2023, a 500% increase from their spending on such drugs five years earlier, according to a research letter published earlier this month in JAMA Network Open.
GLP-1 drugs include Ozempic and Rybelsus, both of which have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes. They also include Saxenda and Wegovy, which the FDA approved for weight loss for people with at least one weight-related health comorbidity. They also include Eli Lilly and Co.’s Mounjaro, which was approved to treat Type 2 diabetes in 2022 and for chronic weight management in 2023. The drug, tirzepatide, is sold for weight management under the brand name Zepbound.
Researchers looked at how U.S. spending on the drugs changed between 2018 and 2023 and said they were able to capture 85% of retail and 74% of outpatient prescription fills.
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.
Spending also varied by brand and type of product. Spending on Ozempic increased from $400 million to $26.4 billion from 2018 to 2023. And by 2023, semaglutide (Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) products made up 70% of all U.S. GLP-1 spending. Also in 2023, products that were approved to treat Type 2 diabetes accounted for 89% of all spending.
In 2024, Mounjaro and Zepbound accounted for more than one-third of Lilly’s record $45 billion in revenue.
Many health insurance policies do not cover GLP-1 medications prescribed for weight loss for patients with obesity. A 28-day supply of four pens carries a list price of $1,086.37, according to Lilly, although prices can vary depending on insurance coverage. 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.
The company is also developing a weight-loss pill, orforglipron, which, if approved, could reach patients as soon as 2026. Analysts expect annual sales of the drug to exceed $10 billion if fully approved.
Increased spending on these drugs can be attributed to the wider variety of options, as Mounjaro and Wegovy were both released after 2021, the researchers wrote, adding that more research is needed to fully understand the GLP-1 market.
The study did not track spending at compounding pharmacies nor did it look at manufacturer discounts, lead author Stavros Tsipas, a data analyst at the American Medical Association, wrote in an email to The Washington Post.
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