Trump says agreement reached with Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly to lower GLP-1 weight loss drugs cost

Patients in the US currently pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.

“It’s going to equalize the world,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office, noting that Lilly and Novo would be providing their other medications to Medicaid at “most-favored-nation” prices.

GLP-1 weight loss drugs in US

Wegovy and Zepbound are the only highly effective GLP-1 weight-loss drugs sold mainly in the US as weekly injections. List prices top $1,000 a month, though both offer cash buyers a $499 monthly supply.

New price for Zepbound and Wegovy

As per the deal, starter doses of weight-loss pills being developed by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will cost $149 per month for all Medicare and Medicaid enrollees and via the White House’s new direct-to-consumer site, TrumpRx.

For currently available injectable GLP-1s used for diabetes and other covered health issues, prices would fall to $245 per month for patients with Medicare or Medicaid.

On TrumpRx, the average price of injectables and pills will start at or below $350 monthly and is expected to trend downward to $245 within two years.

Lilly announced that the lowest dose of Zepbound will be available for $299 per month, with additional doses priced at $449 per month for cash-paying patients under the new deal.

In Medicare, patients’ co-pays will be capped at $50 a month, officials said.

Commercial health insurers would also be able to access prices estimated to be 25% lower than current cash prices, they said.

The government will also expand coverage for GLP-1s under the deal, officials said, to overweight patients with prediabetes or heart problems, obese patients with comorbidities and severely obese patients, accounting for 10% of Medicare patients.

Currently, Medicare does not typically cover the drugs for obesity. Coverage in Medicaid, which is run by each state and jointly financed with the federal government, varies.

The agreed prices will come into effect no later than January for cash payers, by mid-2026 for Medicare patients and on an ongoing basis for Medicaid enrollees, depending on when states sign up.

Lilly said the agreement will improve access to medications for nearly 40 million Americans covered by government insurance programs, as well as millions more who pay out-of-pocket.

It said it would add its diabetes medications – Emgality, Trulicity, and Mounjaro – to its direct-to-consumer platform, offering them at 50% to 60% below their current list prices.