The Trump administration announced a deal Thursday with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to lower the prices of their obesity drugs.
The out-of-pocket cost for the drugs could range from $50 to $350, depending on the dosage and insurance coverage, a senior administration official said.
President Trump called the drug agreement an “amazing thing” and said it would “save lives and improve the health of millions and millions of Americans.”
“This is a great day for American health and health care and for all of the American patients,” he said in the Oval Office. “These are things that are miracles to have this happen. … Americans deserve the best health care in the world, and we’re now getting the best health care at the lowest price.”
Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doutsdar, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz were also present.
“It’s hard to overstate the impact of this day. It’s really a turning point in the fight against chronic disease and a landmark achievement for President Trump and Secretary Kennedy as well as our own company,” Mr. Ricks said.
The agreement would reduce the cost of the starting oral dose of Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy to as little as $149 a month, according to senior administration officials. Injectable GLP-1 will have a monthly starting price of $245.
Medicare and Medicaid also would cover the cost of the drugs, and the drugmakers have agreed to reduce the prices the government pays to $245 a month. Medicare patients will pay no more than $50 a co-pay.
Depending on insurance coverage and eligibility for discounts, the injectable medicine could cost an American up to $1,400 a month, although there are some deals where patients paying out-of-pocket could get Zepbound for $349 a month for the starting dose and $500 for subsequent doses. Wegovy’s direct-to-consumer price is also $500.
Those whose insurance covers the drug could pay less, but not many insurance plans cover the drug for weight-loss purposes.
“Trump is the friend of the forgotten American,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Obesity is a disease of poverty. And overwhelmingly, these drugs have only been available for people who have wealth.”
GLP-1 medication is used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity. The two weight-loss drugs are not covered by Medicare as an obesity treatment.
The drugs will also be available through TrumpRX, the website the White House plans to launch in a couple of months to make prescription drugs available at prices negotiated by the government. The price will be at or below $350, a senior administration official said, and is expected to drop to $245 after two years.
The Obesity Medicine Association said it welcomes the president’s lower drug cost announcement.
“We view today’s development as an important milestone in recognizing obesity as a serious, relapsing, and treatable chronic disease versus a lifestyle choice, and this supports the imperative of treating obesity first to improve the health of individuals and communities,” the association said in a statement. “We look forward to working with policymakers, payers, clinicians and patient advocates to ensure that the promise of this announcement is realized in clinical practice — including timely access, appropriate coverage, provider education, equitable care, and ongoing support for long‐term outcomes.”
The president has had his eyes on reducing the price of the “fat drug” for Americans since he first took office.
“The so-called fat drug or fat shot, whatever it’s called, Ozempic or Mounjaro, in London you get it for $88, in New York you get it for $1,200; you can’t even buy it,” he told Fox News in February. “It’s very unfair.”
The direct-to-consumer prices will be available in January on the TrumpRx site, and Medicare coverage will start in the middle of next year.
A 2024 poll from KFF, a nonprofit health policy research, polling and news organization, found that 1 in 8 adults say they’ve taken a GLP-1 drug, and over half of adults, 61%, say Medicare should cover the drug for obese Medicare patients.
The president announced that Eli Lilly will invest $27 billion and Novo Nordisk will invest $10 billion into the U.S. to build manufacturing plants.
The administration has announced similar “most favored nation” pricing with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono.
