Newly Approved Weight Loss Drug Now Available in US

Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s answer to the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, is now available by prescription in American pharmacies, according to a press release from the company.

People who have health insurance that includes Zepbound could pay as little as $25 for a one to three month prescription, Lilly said in a release. However, people without health insurance, or those whose plans don’t cover the drug,  can expect to pay at least $550 per month—and this is for people who have access to the company’s savings card program. The list price, according to the company, will be $1,060 for a month’s prescription. 

The drug’s main ingredient, tirzapetide, is also used in the Indianapolis-based company’s popular type 2 diabetes drug, Mounjaro. Like its major competitor – semaglutide, which is behind Ozempic and Mounjaro – tirzapetide was initially developed to treat type 2 diabetes only for users to also experience significant weight loss as side effect while using it. 

Some studies have found that tirzapetide is more effective in helping patients lose weight than Ozempic and Wegovy. 

Ozempic has been in short supply due to sky-high demand, now that its ability to treat obesity is becoming more widely known. Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of semaglutide, has been rationing starter kits of the drug as it struggles to produce enough. 

According to the Food and Drug Administration, tirzapetide is also in shortage, but the list says that all dosages are “available.”