Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk Strike Pricing Deal with Trump for Weight-loss Drugs

Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk Strike Pricing Deal with Trump for Weight-loss Drugs

The move is intended to increase access to the treatments through U.S. Medicare for people aged 65 and over and the Medicaid program for low-income people, which together provide healthcare coverage for nearly half of all Americans.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have unveiled a deal to slash the prices of popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for the government's Medicare and Medicaid programs, as well as for cash payers.

The move is intended to increase access to the treatments through U.S. Medicare for people aged 65 and over and the Medicaid program for low-income people, which together provide healthcare coverage for nearly half of all Americans.

Currently, U.S. patients pay by far the most for prescription medicines, often nearly three times more than in other developed nations, and President Trump has been pressuring drugmakers to lower their prices to what patients pay elsewhere.

An administration official reportedly said, "GLP-1s have been top of mind and not just because of the cardiometabolic benefits that they provide, but also because it is an issue of fairness and utilization and pricing and access and affordability for the American people.”

If approved, starter doses of rival weight-loss pills being developed by Lilly and Novo will cost $149 per month for all Medicare and Medicaid enrolees and through the White House's new direct-to-consumer site, TrumpRx, said senior administration officials.

For presently available injectable GLP-1s used for diabetes and other covered health issues, prices would fall to $245 per month for patients with Medicare or Medicaid, they said.

The average price of injectables and pills on TrumpRx will start at or below $350 monthly and is expected to trend downward to $245 within two years. Patients’ co-pays will be capped at $50 a month in Medicare, officials said.

Prices estimated to be 25% lower than current cash prices will also be able to be accessed by commercial health insurers, they said.

Coverage for GLP-1s will also be expanded by the government under the deal, officials said, to overweight patients with prediabetes or heart problems, obese patients with comorbidities and severely obese patients, accounting for 10% of Medicare patients.

The agreed prices will come into effect no later than January for cash payers, by mid-2026 for Medicare patients and on an ongoing basis for Medicaid enrolees depending on when states sign up.

According to administration officials, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk will get relief from tariffs as part of the deal. Novo and Lilly will receive fast-track regulatory vouchers for some of their drugs; they also said.

Novo's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound are the only highly effective GLP-1 weight-loss drugs sold mainly in the US as weekly injections. List prices top $1,000 a month, though both offer cash buyers a $499 monthly supply.

Currently, Medicare does not readily cover the drugs for obesity. Coverage in Medicaid, which is run by each state and jointly financed with the federal government, varies.

Lilly and Novo are both racing to bring oral GLP-1 treatments to market. Novo's once-daily oral Wegovy is under U.S. FDA review with a decision expected in late 2025, while Lilly's orforglipron is set for regulatory submission by the end of 2025 and a potential launch in 2026.

Lilly’s dominance in the GLP-1 space continues to deepen, with physicians and patients increasingly favoring its drugs; BMO capital analyst Evan Seigerman said.

"A potential deal with the Trump administration's direct-to-consumer platform, TrumpRx, could further accelerate Lilly's momentum," he reportedly said, as expanded government coverage more than offsets any decline in net pricing.

TrumpRx.gov will launch in 2026 as a way to help direct-to-consumer sales of drugs at what is has described as most favoured nation pricing, the Trump administration has said.