Weight-Loss Drugs Hit by Price Rises

People using popular weight-loss drugs like Mounjaro and Ozempic are feeling the hit to their wallets as prices soar, and some aren't even able to find the drugs at all.

One anonymous reader told Newsweek that after three years of taking one of the drugs for diabetes, she can no longer find her $7 weekly injections despite being on Medicare. Since January, she said Eli Lilly had no open programs to help pay $846 for 12 injections, but that there's still the option to spend $25 if you have private coverage for four shots.

"There is no generic for these drugs and I'm allergic to the alternatives," the woman said. "My complaint is the drug works for me keeping my sugar count low and weight loss. I don't know what's going to happen to my condition now that I can't afford to purchase."

As someone on a fixed income, the reader said that the more than $3,000 yearly out of pocket expense eats into her budget, despite her having diabetes, which is what the drug was initially made for.

"It helped me make wise food choices, have more energy, helped my cholesterol, sleeping, multiple sclerosis," said another reader, whose insurance stopped covering Mounjaro. "It's pretty devastating."

Newsweek reached out to Ozempic and Mounjaro's pharmaceutical companies, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, for comment via email. A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk said Ozempic is available to patients with type two diabetes all across the United States.

"In the U.S., we cannot control which specific pharmacies or patients receive Ozempic as we distribute our products to wholesalers, who in turn supply retail pharmacies nationwide," Allison Schneider, the director of media relations and issues management at Novo Nordisk, told Newsweek. "While we respect every healthcare professional's clinical expertise and their right to prescribe treatment based on their own medical judgment, we ask that healthcare professionals prescribe our medicines consistent with their FDA-approved indications."

Schneider said Novo Nordisk plans to invest $6.5 billion in new manufacturing and production capacity compared to $3.6 billion last year.

The specific out-of-pocket cost for the drug will depend on insurance coverage, but patients with private or commercial coverage can access a savings card to spend as little as $25 for a one-month, two-month or three-month supply for up to two years. The list price is currently $968.52, Schneider said, but most people on health insurance don't pay that amount.

According to Novo Nordisk, annual price increases haven't gone beyond single digits in the United States since 2016.

"Novo Nordisk increases the list price of some of our medicines each year in response to changes in the healthcare system, market conditions, and the impact of inflation," Schneider said. "It's important to note that the list price is set by Novo Nordisk, but is not representative of the out-of-pocket costs for most insured patients."

Dr. Sharon Giese, the creator of the Elective Weight Loss Program, says Ozempic and Mounjaro prices have jumped between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent, and off-label prescriptions are one way to get the medications even when they're backordered at a pharmacy.

'Obesity Epidemic'

In Manhattan, the price can come down to anywhere between $1,100 and $1,400 for a month's supply, but compounding pharmacies could turn this cost into just $500 to $800 a month, she said.

"Unfortunately, there are many physicians who will not prescribe these very effective drugs to obese patients," Giese told Newsweek. "So some obese patients obtain a prescription and their medical insurance will not pay for the medication. There is a clear role for compounding pharmacies in managing our country's obesity epidemic."

According to SingleCare, 470 percent more Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro prescriptions were filed in January 2024 compared with a year earlier. SingleCare also found the average retail price for a one-month supply of the popular GLP-1 medications ended up being $1,340, which equates to $16,080 a year.

Because of the way GLP-1 medications are designed, patients who begin using them might find they spend more than they initially planned, though, as the drugs will not necessarily keep you at your goal weight once you stop them and your appetite cues come back, experts say.

"When you start GLP-1's you are committing to a big price commitment," Dr. Sue Decotiis, a New York City weight-loss doctor, told Newsweek. "The goal is not to be on the drug forever, but after you lose 20 percent of body weight, the body thinks you're starving and will try to gain weight.

"After using Ozempic, it may take six months to two years to get your metabolism back to normal. This is why the drug can be so expensive for individuals. You have to be ready to commit to it financially for the long haul."

Companies are also beginning to sell non-FDA approved drugs that emulate Ozempic, which could make the weight-loss drug market increasingly dangerous, she said. Today, the shortage of drugs affects over 40 percent of Americans with obesity.

And as the shortages become more desperate, many are concerned big pharma will prioritize profits over people.

"Big Pharma's egregious pricing and anti-competitive tactics around GLP-1 weight-loss drugs are indicative of the industry's profits over people mindset," Jon Conradi, a spokesman for The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, told Newsweek.

"These medications are effectively older drugs repackaged for a different indication, yet their big pharma manufacturers are giving them new brand names to pretend they represent innovation, hiking their price at rates outpacing inflation and building new patent thickets around to keep prices high and maximize profits, regardless of the impact on affordability."

If you would like to share your experience with weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro with Newsweek, please reach out to us at personalfinance@newsweek.com.