- Novo and Lilly first-to-market with weight-loss injections
- Pills seen priced in line with current injectable drugs
- Lilly pill easier to make at scale than Novo’s
- Novo pill more effective than Lilly’s in trials
SEATTLE, Aug 18 (Reuters) – U.S. prices for obesity-treatment pills that Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab and Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab aim to launch next year likely will be on par with their weight-loss injections, analysts and investors say, in a departure from the usual practice of charging more for new medicines despite pressure to cut prices.
Neither drugmaker has disclosed pricing plans for their new daily oral medications. With regulatory approvals and launches still months away, pricing plans could change. Denmark-based Novo expects approval later this year and to launch soon after, while Indianapolis-based Lilly expects to launch by August 2026.
Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound, administered as weekly injections, are the only highly effective weight-loss drugs targeting the GLP-1 hormone, and the United States is their biggest market. U.S. list prices are about $1,000 per month or more, with both companies offering a monthly supply for $499 to customers paying cash rather than using health insurance.
Both companies have said they developed oral weight-loss drugs to meet patient needs and widen access to the market, mindful that some people are averse to injections.
The pills, however, are not more effective than the injections. Lilly said this month its pill orforglipron cut weight by 12.4% after 72 weeks in a trial. That compares with weight loss of 15% for Novo’s daily oral semaglutide. Both trail Lilly’s injection at up to 21%.