Obesity drug prices are dropping, but getting a steady supply remains a challenge
Prices fall for popular obesity treatments Wegovy and Zepbound, but constant access to drugs remains difficult.
Drugs are still about $ 500 per month for those who have no insurance – out of reach for many patients. And even for people with insurance, the coverage remains uneven.
“Medicines should be available, the question is what price and people can support this,” said Matt Maciejewski, Professor of the University of Duke who studies the cover of obesity treatment.
Doctors say that the situation forces them to show creativity in the treatment of patients, but there is hope that prices could fall more in the future.
Wegovy and Zepbound are part of a wave of obesity drugs called GLP-1 receptors who climbed popularity.
Zepbound reported $ 2.3 billion in American sales during the first quarter of this year, making it one of the best sellers of the Eli Lilly medication manufacturer.
Novo Nordisk says Wegovy has around 200,000 weekly orders in the United States, where it brought in nearly $ 1.9 billion in sales in the first quarter.
The consultant in social benefits Mercer says that more companies of 500 or more employees add coverage of the drugs injected for their workers and their family members.
And Novo says that 85% of its patients who have coverage in the United States pay $ 25 or less per month.
In addition, some patients with diabetes can obtain coverage of the drugs GLP-1 Ozempic and Mounjaro de Novo and Lilly who are approved to deal with this condition.
But most of the Medicaid programs funded by states and states do not cover medicines for obesity and health insurance, the federal program, the federal program, mainly for people aged 65 and over.
Even plans covering drugs often pay only part of the bill, exposing patients to hundreds of dollars in monthly costs, said Dr. Beverly Tchang.
Medication manufacturers offer help with these unconditional costs, but this assistance can be limited.
“Coverage is not the same as access,” said Tchang, a doctor based in New York who is paid advisor to Novo and Lilly.
Invoices and employers are nervous with regard to drugs that could be used by many people indefinitely.
Some major employers have abandoned coverage of medicines due to expenses. Pharmacy, or PBM services managers are also starting to choose a brand compared to the other when they negotiate agreements with drug manufacturers.
One of the largest PBM in the country, managed by CVS Health, abandoned Zepbound from its national form, or list of covered drugs, on July 1 in favor of Wegovy.
It forced the tchang to understand another treatment plan for several patients, many of whom took Zepbound because it made them less nausea.
The Dr. Courtney Younglove office sends potential patients a video link showing them how to check the insurer’s website for drug coverage before their visit.
“Then, some of them simply cancel their appointment because they have no coverage,” said Park Overland, Kansas.
Composition pharmacies and other entities have been authorized to make off -brand and cheaper copies of Wegovy and Zepbound when there was a shortage of medicines. But the Food and Drug Administration of the United States determined earlier this year that the shortage had ended.
This should have ended the composed versions, but there is an exception: a composition is authorized when a drug is personalized for the patient.
HIMS Health Care Company & Hers Health offers doses composed of semaglutide, the drug behind Wegovy, which adjust dose levels to help patients manage side effects. Hims says that these plans start at $ 165 per month for 12 months, with customers paying in full before.
This is a controversial problem. Eli Lilly continued pharmacies and telehealth companies trying to prevent them from selling versions made up of his products.
Novo recently ended a short -term partnership with Hims to sell Wegovy because the Télésanté company continued to aggravate. Novo says that the versions made up of his medication endanger patient safety because the ingredients are manufactured by foreign suppliers not monitored by American regulators.
Hims says he checks all the ingredients to make sure they meet quality and safety standards. He also uses a third -party laboratory to verify that the strength of a drug is precisely labeled.
The two drug manufacturers sell most of their doses for around $ 500 a month to people without insurance, a few hundred dollars less than certain initial prices.
Despite this, this expense would eat around 14% of the average annual income per person in the United States, or about $ 43,000.
Some factors can delete prices over time. The two companies develop versions of pills of their treatments. These could arrive on the market over the next year, which could lower the prices of older injectable doses.
Younglove said some of its patients save up to 15% by sending their doses of a pharmacy to Canada. They passed them from an Israeli pharmacy until Canadians drop their prices.
She says that competition like this, as well as the introduction of pill versions, will put pressure on American prices.
“I think the price wars will lower it,” she said. “I think we are in the early stages. I have hope. “
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