Eli Lily Slashes Prices on Zepbound!

Eli Lilly's Major Price Drop Announcement Eli ly just slashed prices on Zep bound that's right you heard it right Eli Lily just announced a major price drop on Zep bound with new single dose vials but don't get too excited just yet these lower prices come with a catch they're only for the lowest Doses and available exclusively online stay tuned to find out if this pricing shift truly makes a different or if it's just another obstacle in your weight loss Journey Introduction and Disclaimer welcome to the downsized I'm Christopher Durham and today we've got some important news in the world of gp1 medications but first a quick reminder that the information I share here is for educational purposes only always consult your healthc care provider before making any decisions about your treatment I'm not a doctor Lorraine's not a doctor talk to your doctor and if you're finding value in our content please make sure to hit that like button and subscribe so you never miss an update as many of you know my glp1 journey started in September of 2023 over the months I've used a combination of compounded eptide monjaro and Zep bound and then back to compounded tepati due to manufacturer shortages so weily just wasn't making enough which have all resulted in a 77 pound weight loss for me to date my wife Lorraine who is currently on compounded th seatide has lost more than 50 lbs in 26 weeks together we've dropped over 120 lb which has been physically and mentally lifechanging and as you know we started a YouTube channel to boot we're excited about it and this is very personal and very real for us let's talk about the big news today Eli L has just released Details on New Pricing and Availability Zep bound or to zepeti in 2.5 mgram and 5 milligram single dose vials available for self-pay so what does self-pay mean well self-pay means for those of you who for whatever reason could did not have insurance that covered it or had Medicare Medicaid that would not cover it or not even allow you to use the manufacturer's coupon you can go to Eli Lily and buy the 2.5 and the 5 milligram doses at these reduced prices so it opens up a lot of opportunity these vs are priced at a 50% or more significant discount than other glp1 medications for obesity making them a more accessible option for many so they are putting a shot across the bowel at Nova Nordisk and wovi and saying we want to steal your share under the new pricing plan the cash pay price for a month supply of the lowest dose 2.5 Mig will be $399 while a month supply of the 5 milligram dose will cost $549 that's down from a monthly list price of $1,059 regardless of the dosage they have not revealed yet what the higher prices will be what the higher dose cost will be if and when they release the bals in those uh doses we'll have to wait and see if it even happens this opens it up for those without insurance or on Medicare who could not use the Lily coupon so this is a huge deal for a lot of the of our viewers Concerns and Potential Issues however there's a catch these vs are available exclusively online through Lily direct and won't be available at your local pharmacy so no Walgreens no CVS no Joe's Pharmacy down the street it's through Lily direct this raises a concern for me personally will this create a bigger bottleneck and access we we've already seen issues with Supply in the past and now with everyone having to go through a single online channel it's hard not to worry about potential delays and shortages Lily has created a new self-pay Pharmacy component of Lily direct where patients with a valid on label prescription from the healthc care provider of their choice can purchase the vials Distributing the vials via this channel ensures patients and providers can trust receiving of course genuine Lily medicine Lily has harped on the dangers of com compounding and all of that you know we're always skeptical of them being worried about State regulated pharmacies but you know we've had that conversation many times before Lily direct when you purchase it from them will include a multi-step verification process designed to help ensure the vows are dispensed only to patients who have a valid on label electronic prescription from their doctor on label meaning this needs to be for obesity not something else patients can also purchase ancillary supplies which we would presume are much High higher margin much higher profit like syringes and needles and will have access to important patient friendly instructional materials on correctly administering the medicine via needle and syringe while Lily's move does make these medications more affordable a 4-we supply of the 2.5 milligram dose will be $399 and a 4-we supply of the 5 milligram dose will be $549 it's a significant price drop for sure but these prices are still steep for many people especially for those in the underserved communities let's not forget that these are just the two lowest doses what about those who need higher doses the 7.5 the 10 the 12.5 and the 15 I'm currently on 15 and would love to be able to get my medication from Lily direct are we supposed to be grateful for a discount while still being denied access to the doses many of us actually need what would the price be for the 15 milligram dose and will they ever release the vials in these larger doses we simply don't know now it's worth mentioning that the tah Health company that we use Mochi has dropped their prices just in the last few days for compounded tripati to $275 for a month for all doses from 2.5 milligram to 15 milligram plus their $79 membership fee so price price Gap is shrinking how will Compounders react to this Mochi recently added vitamin B3 to their compounder eptide so they're trying to work out what it looks like to be a compounder as these things move forward will we see the Compounders react again and lower their prices it's hard to say but I would not be surprised but I want to be really clear here this Market Competition and Strategy price drop is not altruistic they're not just saying we want to help people so much we're going to give you our medications cheaper they're looking to capture market share they want to own the market for obesity medications in the US and globally just in the US there are 100 million adults with obesity and more than 22 million adults with severe obesity this Market is so large they can reduce their price and through the sheer scale of it make significantly more profit they want to win don't don't have any doubt they want to beat Novo Nordisk and anybody else who's coming along in this market and this is a move designed to help them with with Eli Lily's recent move they certainly improved the price but there's still room for improvement Lily has made strides in addressing the demand issue but by limiting these vows to online only availability through Lily direct they could unintentionally create new access challenges according to Lily expanding coverage and affordability of treatments is vital to people living with obesity we certainly know that they go on to say it's time for policy makers employers and insurers to work with pharmaceutical companies to ensure no one is Left Behind in receiving the care they deserve and need while I completely agree with Lily statement I can't help but notice that these lower cost options exclude many who need higher doses or more comprehensive coverage shouldn't Equitable care mean everyone gets access not just those with the ability to pay out of pocket we don't know how this is going to impact the insured Market the Medicare Market the Medicaid Market we can only assume that now Medicaid Medicare patients will be able to get these if they pay out of pocket with cash we simply don't know it's a great Final Thoughts and Call to Action move do not get me wrong I applaud Lily for trying to make this more accessible for lowering these prices we absolutely believe they should be doing that and this is where we advocate for a Health Care system that is less complex and more transparent we advocate for understanding the pricing from every step of the way from the manufacturer to the PBM to the distributor to the drugstore such that we understand and that everybody's making a profit but American patients patients globally get a great product at a great price please join us Thursday night at 7 for downsized live where we'll have I'm sure a lot of conversation about this and its impact thanks for joining me we'll be closely monitoring this development from Eli ly especially as it relates to pricing and access please drop us a comment let us know what you think I'd love to hear from you your thoughts your fears and as always thank you for being a part of the downsize Community stay healthy stay informed and like And subscribe I'll catch you next video I'm Christopher Durham for the downsized