Trump, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk unveil deals to cut obesity drug prices

President Donald Trump announced agreements with Elie Lilly And Novo Nordisk to cut prices on some of its obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, in a historic effort to expand access to expensive blockbuster treatments.

The deals will reduce prices of so-called GLP-1 drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries in 2026 and offer the treatments directly to consumers at a discount on a website the Trump administration will launch in January called TrumpRx.gov.

That means Medicare will begin covering obesity drugs for some patients for the first time starting in mid-2026, a highly anticipated move that could expand the market for the drugs and incentivize more private insurers to cover them. Some Medicare patients will pay a $50 per month copay for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 medications, including treatment of diabetes and obesity.

Starting doses of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s upcoming obesity pills, pending approval, will be $149 per month for everyone who receives them through Medicare, Medicaid or TrumpRx, a senior administration official who declined to be named told reporters during a press briefing Thursday.

The oral version of Novo Nordisk’s obesity injection, Wegovy, could enter the market by the end of the year, while Eli Lilly’s orforglipron pill could launch next year. The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it has granted priority review vouchers, speeding up review times for Eli Lilly’s pill.

Initial doses of existing shots like Novo’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound will cost $350 per month on TrumpRX, but will “trend down” to $245 per month over a two-year period, another senior administration official said at the briefing.

Wegovy and Zepbound have not been covered by Medicare for weight loss, “and they have rarely been covered by Medicaid,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “They often cost consumers more than $1,000 a month, some much more than that. … It ends starting today.”

The deals are among the most politically significant announcements yet in the Trump administration’s efforts to curb high drug costs in the United States by tying them to lower prices abroad. As part of the president’s “most favored nation” policy, he announced agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at reduced prices, in exchange for exemptions from scheduled pharmaceutical tariffs.

“It’s the most important drug in our country, and that’s why it’s the most important of all. [most favored nation] “This is going to have the greatest impact on the American people. All Americans, even those who don’t have Medicaid or Medicare, are going to be able to get the same price for their medications, for their GLP-1.”

Kennedy claimed the American public would lose 125 million pounds by this time next year, saying expanded access would have “dramatic effects on human health” in the United States.

The event was delayed when a man standing behind Trump fainted.

The list prices of existing obesity drugs — about $1,000 to $1,350 per month before insurance — pose a huge hurdle for patients, many of whom could benefit from their ability to promote weight loss and alleviate other related health complications such as cardiovascular risks and sleep apnea. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already have programs to sell their discounted weight-loss drugs directly to cash-paying consumers, but the new deals appear to take those efforts to improve access even further.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly agreed to reduce to $245 a month the price Medicare pays for GLP-1, which it already covers for diabetes and other indications, as well as anti-obesity drugs. The companies agreed to extend the lower government price for their GLP-1 drugs — $245 per month for all other non-initial doses — to all 50 Medicaid programs for all covered uses. States will have to adhere to these prices, which means some won’t be able to.

But Medicare coverage could have a bigger impact on drug beneficiaries, because the program covers about 66 million people and is the primary source of insurance for people ages 65 and older. The new obesity drug coverage will be made possible through a pilot program designed to cover the majority of Medicare Part D beneficiaries, which are the program’s prescription drug plans.

Another senior administration official said about 10% of Medicare beneficiaries would be eligible to receive GLP-1 for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. Eligible patients will be divided into three cohorts. The first includes people who are overweight, with a body mass index above 27 or with prediabetes or established cardiovascular disease.

The second group is made up of people suffering from obesity – with a BMI above 30 – and uncontrolled hypertension, kidney disease or heart failure. The third group consists of patients with severe obesity or anyone with a BMI greater than 35.

GLP-1s for weight loss are approved for a much broader population: people who are obese or overweight with a related condition. The administration official said: “We are limiting access to patients who will benefit clinically. We’ve worked very hard to find a balance between broad access that simply ensures that we capture the patients who will benefit clinically. »

As part of those deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also made commitments similar to what other drugmakers made under Trump’s Most Favored Nation deals. The companies will guarantee most-favored-nation pricing on all new drugs they bring to market, provide that pricing to every Medicaid program in every state, offer at least U.S. net prices or most-favored-nation pricing on almost all primary care drugs on TrumpRx and share savings from foreign drug price increases on existing products, a senior administration official said.

Also Thursday, Eli Lilly announced it would lower prices by $50 on its own direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound at a discount to patients paying cash. Zepbound’s multidose pen will be available for $299 per month at the lowest dose, with additional doses going up to $449 per month.

Eli Lilly’s pill, once approved, will be available at the lowest dose, starting at $149 per month.

In a statement released Thursday, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the deal marks “a pivotal moment in U.S. health policy and a defining step for Lilly,” which is focused on “improving outcomes, strengthening the U.S. health care system, and contributing to the health of our nation for generations to come.”

In a separate statement, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said, “Today’s announcement will bring semaglutide medications to more U.S. patients at a lower cost.” Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Wegovy and Ozempic.

This is not the first time the government has proposed Medicare coverage of obesity medications. Former President Joe Biden proposed a rule at the end of his term that would have allowed the program to cover such treatments, but the Trump administration declined in April to finalize the measure.

Biden’s proposal would have expanded access to about 3.4 million Medicare beneficiaries. But the measure was controversial at the time because it would cost taxpayers as much as $35 billion over nine years, according to a congressional analysis.

But some health experts say drug coverage could eliminate the downstream costs of treating obesity-related conditions.

Semaglutide is also included in the next round of Medicare drug price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into law in 2022. Trump is expected to unveil new prices for the 15 drugs selected for these negotiations by November 30.

Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Eli Lilly’s Zepbound and the Mounjaro diabetes injection, likely won’t be eligible for these negotiations until the end of the decade.