Novo Nordisk cuts Wegovy prices in half for cash-paying consumers

Novo Nordisk is cutting the cost of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy in half for U.S. patients paying cash through its direct-to-patient online pharmacy, as competition in the highly lucrative market stiffens. 

With NovoCare Pharmacy, uninsured patients or eligible patients with commercial insurance who do not have coverage can access all dose strengths of Wegovy, the brand name for semaglutide, for $499 per month. This includes 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg, and 2.4 mg dose strengths. The list price of the drug before insurance and certain rebates are factored in is well over $1,000. 

Patients must be prescribed the medication.

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Those who are eligible can schedule shipments of their Wegovy prescriptions directly to their home through the pharmacy service. These home shipments are fulfilled by CenterWell Pharmacy. NovoCare also offers benefit verification, refill reminders and gives patients access to live support from a NovoCare case manager, according to the pharmaceutical giant. 

The company said its offering came shortly after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that the shortage of this medication is resolved. All dose strengths of Wegovy meet or exceed both current and projected U.S. demand, according to the pharmaceutical giant.  

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Due to overwhelming demand, the company limited the supply of certain dose strengths to wholesalers for distribution to retail pharmacies since May 2023, impacting sales.

In its latest fiscal quarter, Novo’s revenue exceeded Wall Street expectations, but it forecast slower sales growth in 2025, partly due to increasing competition. Its rivals have also cut prices and expanded offerings to uninsured patients to boost demand as well. 

Just last week, Eli Lilly announced it is expanding the supply and cutting the costs of its weight-loss drug Zepbound, again, effectively broadening access to more patients without insurance with its own self-pay pharmacy.

The company, which has also seen a significant boost in profits from Zepbound and Mounjaro — essentially the same drug with different FDA-approved uses — announced that the new vials and pricing are exclusively available through LillyDirect Self Pay Pharmacy Solutions.

This isn’t the first time Lilly has expanded the supply of its weight-loss drug and cut its cost to effectively compete in the highly lucrative market. 

The pharmaceutical giant announced in August it was offering 2.5 mg and 5 mg single-dose vials of tirzepatide for the first time in response to growing demand. At the time, Lilly said the doses were also “priced at a 50% or greater discount compared to the list price of all other incretin (GLP-1) medicines for obesity.”