Zepbound, which was approved last month to treat obesity, is now available in U.S. pharmacies.
Effective Dec. 1, 2023, Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) was added to the national preferred formulary for Express Scripts and Cigna Healthcare. Additionally, effective Dec. 15, 2023, it will be added to Cigna Healthcare’s commercial formularies.
Zepbound was approved in November to treat adults who are obese as measured by body mass index or those who are overweight and have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. Tirzepatide is already approved with the name Mounjaro to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.
Zepbound is now available in pharmacies.
“Today opens another chapter for adults living with obesity who have been looking for a new treatment option like Zepbound,” Rhonda Pacheco, group vice president, Lilly Diabetes and Obesity, U.S., said in a press release. “The availability of Zepbound in U.S. pharmacies is the first step, but we have to work hand-in-hand with employers, government and healthcare industry partners to remove barriers and make Zepbound available to those who need it.”
Zepbound is administered by injection under the skin once weekly. It is available in six doses at a list price of $1,059.87, which is about 20% lower than semaglutide. Lilly also has a savings card program. Those with commercial insurance who have coverage for Zepbound will be eligible to pay as low as $25 for a one-month to three-month prescription.
Those with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for Zepbound may be eligible to pay as low as $550 for a one-month prescription of Zepbound, which is about 50% lower than the list price. Zepbound and Lilly’s commercial savings card program are now available at U.S. pharmacies.
Related: Lilly’s Weight Loss Drug Approved by the FDA
At the highest dose, people taking Zepbound lost on average 48 pounds, while at the lowest dose, people lost on average 34 pounds (compared with seven pounds on placebo). Additionally, one in three patients taking Zepbound at the highest dose lost more than 58 pounds (25% of body weight), compared with 1.5% on placebo.
The most common adverse events related to Zepbound were nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, injection-site reactions, fatigue, hypersensitivity reactions, eructation, hair loss and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
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