On November 21, 2025, the Eli Lilly logo is displayed at the company’s offices in San Diego, California, USA.
Mike Blake | Reuters
Eli Lilly The company announced Monday that it is reducing the cash price for single-dose vials of its hit weight loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect. This builds on efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the drug more accessible.
The announcement also comes weeks after its biggest rival novo nordisk announced additional discounts on cash prices for obesity and diabetes drugs.
Starting Monday, cash-paying patients with a valid prescription will be able to get starting doses of Zepbound vials on LillyDirect for as low as $299 per month, down from the previous price of $349 per month. You can also access the next dose of 5 milligrams for $399 per month, and all other doses for $449 per month, which is cheaper than the $499 per month for these sizes.
Zepbound’s list price is approximately $1,086 per month. Their price and the disparity in insurance coverage of weight loss drugs in the United States are significant barriers to access for some patients.
Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump signed a deal with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make GLP-1 drugs more accessible to Americans. The agreement lowers the prices the government pays for drugs, introduces Medicare coverage for obesity drugs for certain patients for the first time, and makes drugs available at discounted prices on TrumpRx, the government’s new direct-to-consumer website launching in January.
But Eli Lilly’s deal with President Trump centers around lowering the price of another form of Zepbound, a multi-dose pen, once it receives approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
So Eli Lilly’s announcement Monday about lowering the price of existing single-dose vials could mean more patients can receive discounted treatment more quickly.
“We continue to work to expand our delivery options and create new access routes to give more people more options and access to the medicines they need,” Ilya Yuffa, president of Lilly USA and global customer relations, said in a statement.
For single-dose vials, patients must use a syringe and needle to draw up the medication and inject themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced its format, Zepbound, in August 2024.
It is unclear how many patients are currently taking single-dose vials of Zepbound. However, Eli Lilly previously said that direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than one-third of Zepbound’s new prescriptions.
Earlier this month, Novo Nordisk lowered the prices of obesity drug Wigovy and diabetes drug Ozempic from $499 to $349 per month for existing cash-paying patients. This does not include the highest dose of Ozempic.
The company also launched a temporary introductory offer. This will allow new patients who pay cash to receive the two lowest doses of Wigoby and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.
