Eli Lilly released a new form of its weight-loss drug Zepbound for roughly half its typical price, aiming to reach more patients without coverage, while also taking on copycat versions.
Eli Lilly stock edged higher in early Tuesday trading. Weight-loss rival Novo Nordisk declined modestly, while Viking Therapeutics and Him & Hers also retreated.
Eli Lilly will offer 2.5-miligram and 5-mg single-dose vials of Zepbound for $399 and $549 per month, respectively, via its website. That compares to list prices for around $1,000 a month before insurance and rebates.
Patients will need a syringe for the new Zepbound offering and inject themselves. The current version uses single-dose autoinjector pens that patients can directly inject under the skin with a click.
The vials are easier to manufacture than autoinjector pens, so they will boost Zepbound supply, Eli Lilly said.
The lower prices are aimed at patients on Medicare and other health plans that don't cover weight-loss treatments.
Eli Lilly Stock
Eli Lilly stock rose 0.4% to 954.48 in Tuesday's stock market trading. LLY stock is trading just below record highs. Shares dipped 0.2% to 950.53 on Monday.
Novo Nordisk, which makes rival weight-loss drug Wegovy, edged down 0.1%. Novo stock dipped 1.2% to 135.30 on Monday, falling back below the 50-day line within a consolidation.
Viking Therapeutics stock tumbled 6.3%. Viking is developing its own obesity drugs.
Drug giants Amgen and Roche, which also are working on weight-loss drugs, edged higher and dipped 0.6%, respectively.
Him & Hers stock slumped 7.5%. The online pharmacy has been marketing compounded equivalents to weight-loss drugs, despite Zepbound and Wegovy being under patent. The Food and Drug Administration lets compounding pharmacies make copycat versions of branded drugs during shortages.
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