Eli Lilly cuts cash prices of Zepbound weight loss drug vials

Eli Lilly It said Monday that it is lowering cash prices for single-dose vials of the blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect, citing efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the drug more accessible.

The announcement also comes weeks after chief rival Novo Nordisk announced that it made additional discounts on the cash prices of obesity and diabetes drugs.

Starting Monday, patients with a valid prescription and paying cash will be able to get an initial dose of Zepbound vials for as little as $299 per month at LillyDirect, down from the previous price of $349 per month. They also have access to the next dose (5 milligrams) for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month; these rates were $499 per month at these sizes.

Zepbound carries a list price about $1,086 per month. This price point and patchy insurance coverage for weight-loss drugs in the U.S. pose significant barriers to access for some patients.

Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump signed agreements with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make GLP-1 drugs easier for Americans to buy and afford. The deals will lower the prices the government pays for drugs, allow Medicare to cover obesity drugs for the first time for certain patients, and offer discounted drugs on TrumpRx, the government’s new direct-to-consumer website that launched in January.

But Eli Lilly’s deal with Trump focuses on lowering prices for a different form of Zepbound (a multi-dose pen) after it receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

That means Eli Lilly’s announcement Monday about lowering prices on existing single-dose vials could allow more patients to get discounted treatments more quickly.

“We will continue to work to provide more options – expanding delivery device options and creating new access pathways – so more people can get the medications they need,” Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global client capabilities, said in a statement.

For single-dose vials, patients must use a syringe and needle to prepare and inject the medication into themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced this form of Zepbound in August 2024.

It is unclear how many patients are currently receiving single-dose vials of Zepbound. But Eli Lilly has previously said direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of Zepbound’s new prescriptions.

Earlier this month, Novo Nordisk dropped the price of its obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic to its existing cash-paying patients from $499 to $349 per month. This does not include the highest dose of Ozempic.

The company also launched a temporary introductory offer that will allow new patients who pay cash to access the lowest two doses of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.