By Maggie Fick
LONDON, March 31 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk will launch a discounted subscription plan for U.S. Wegovy patients paying for the drug themselves, offering monthly prices up to nearly 30% below its standard rate as it tries to widen access and regain ground from Eli Lilly in the booming obesity-drug market.
Self-pay obesity-drug prices are coming under broader pressure as Novo and Eli Lilly turn to direct sales and telehealth firms to draw patients in, divert them from compounded copies and keep
them on treatment for longer - even though deeper price cuts threaten margins.
Analysts and investors say Novo risks being on the losing side of the price war, having cut more deeply than Lilly to revive prescriptions that have lagged Lilly's rival drug Zepbound.
The new programme, available from Tuesday through telehealth platforms including Ro, WeightWatchers and LifeMD, lets eligible self-pay patients buy three-, six- or 12-month supplies at fixed monthly prices, with longer plans offering bigger reductions. Hims & Hers, Sesame and other telehealth companies are expected to join soon, Novo said.
The Danish drugmaker last year replaced its CEO and announced major job cuts and named a new head of its U.S. business, as it seeks to better position itself against Lilly, which moved quickly into direct-to-consumer sales.
PATIENTS BECOMING CONSUMERS
Ed Cinca, Novo's senior vice president of marketing and patient solutions, said people were looking for "easier and clearer ways of facilitating payment" as they seek obesity management.
"We're seeing the patient evolving into the consumer of health," he said, adding that people paying out of pocket want simple budgeting, clear pricing and easier ways to stay on the treatment.
Under the scheme, Wegovy injection pens will cost $329 a month for a three-month plan, $299 for six months and $249 for a 12-month subscription - some 6% to 29% below the usual $349 monthly price.
The Wegovy pill will cost $289, $269 and $249 a month, or about 3% to 17% below its standard $299 monthly price.
Lilly's self-pay prices for Zepbound start at $299 a month for the 2.5 mg dose, $399 for 5 mg and $449 for 7.5 mg and higher doses under its "Self Pay Journey Program".
Lilly’s rival oral obesity drug is under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, with the company expecting approval in the second quarter. Reuters reported earlier this year that approval could come in April.
Competition has intensified as both companies try to steer patients away from cheaper compounded copies to their branded, FDA-approved medicines.
STEERING PATIENTS AWAY FROM COMPOUNDED DRUGS
Zach Reitano, CEO of Novo partner telehealth company Ro, said Novo and Lilly are trying new things to reach customers, driving prices down for the drugs as well as the costs of distribution.
"They're following the exact same path that you'd normally see in other consumer industries," Reitano said.
Novo is increasingly leaning on telehealth and direct distribution to reach patients paying out of pocket, a shift outside of traditional insurance channels and doctors' offices.
Novo cut Wegovy's standard monthly self-pay price to $349 in November from $499, a roughly 30% reduction, after introducing a temporary $199 starter-dose offer.
(Reporting by Maggie Fick in LondonAdditional reporting by Amina Niasse in New York, editing by Louise Heavens)
