A person gives themselves a dose of Zepbound using an autoinjector pen. Photo: Shelby Knowles/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Eli Lilly is making its weight-loss drug Zepbound available in single-dose vials at reduced prices through its recently launched direct-to-consumer sales platform.
Why it matters: Widespread shortages have dogged the newly popular class of anti-obesity and diabetes GLP-1 drugs, prompting pharmaceutical giants and telehealth companies to seek alternative routes to bolstering access.
Driving the news: Lilly will sell 2.5-mg and 5-mg vials for $399 and $549 apiece, respectively, for a four-week supply via LillyDirect.
Both vials come without the auto-injector pen that accompanies standard prescriptions, meaning patients will need to acquire syringes and needles on their own to draw up the medicine.
💠Our thought bubble via Axios Vitals author Tina Reed:While Zepbound and Mounjaro recently came off the FDA shortage list, the auto-injector pens are still in short supply.
That has allowed compounders to continue filling the gap using an FDA loophole that allows them to make essential copies of the drugs in their own vials.
This move by Lilly essentially aims to take back market share from these compounders.
