The weight loss drug market is set to explode further with the announcement that Wegovy is set to be available via telehealth platforms at more affordable rates.
Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk has revealed that working with online firms Hims & Hers, Ro and LifeMD to sell Wegovy, as it looks to stem sales of copies of its popular weight-loss drug and expand access to cash-paying patients.
Hims & Hers said it will begin offering all doses of Wegovy this week, starting at $599 per month to eligible cash-paying patients with a prescription.
Ro and LifeMD said they would offer access to all doses of the drug – which is a stronger version of Ozempic – for $499 per month.
These offers will be available for uninsured patients or eligible patients with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for obesity medicines.
Currently Wegovy has a list price of around $1,350 for a 28-day supply.
This means that the medication could cost more than $16,000 per year without insurance or manufacturer discounts.
GLP-1 drugs do require a prescription but all people have to do via telehealth platforms is make an online appointment with a doctor, see them briefly over a video chat and get an order signed off.
The weight loss drug market is set to explode further with the announcement that Wegovy is set to be available via telehealth platforms at more affordable rates
Rival drugmaker Eli Lilly has made similar moves to make its obesity drug Zepbound more accessible to cash-paying patients, including working with Ro to offer the medicine through its platform.
Shares of Hims & Hers jumped more than 25 percent in afternoon trading on announcement of the Wegovy launch, while LifeMD shares rose more than 36 percent.
A US judge last week rejected a bid by compounding pharmacies to keep selling copies of Wegovy while a legal challenge over drug shortages plays out.
Compounding pharmacies had been allowed to produce hundreds of thousands of doses of their versions of Novo’s obesity and diabetes drugs while the FDA said the medicines were in short supply.
Larger so-called outsourcing facilities, which make compounded drugs in bulk to sell to telehealth companies and others, have been given until May 22 to cease making the drug, while smaller compounding pharmacies must stop immediately.
Hims & Hers and Ro started selling compounded versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and Novo’s diabetes drug Ozempic, last year.
Hims CEO Andrew Dudum said the company will continue to offer personalized compounded versions of semaglutide on its platform.
In an effort to make Wegovy more accessible to cash-paying patients earlier this year, Novo Nordisk launched its NovoCare pharmacy program to supply the drug at a reduced cost of $499.
Later in March, it extended the offer to all eligible cash-paying customers at their local pharmacy.
Patients can now access NovoCare directly through the three telehealth platforms.
‘This should also be a very clear message that we have full supply of Wegovy… we want everyone to know that all doses are available,’ Dave Moore, executive vice president of US operations for the Danish drugmaker said.
