Eli Lilly's Zepbound obesity drug hits US pharmacies as rival Wegovy faces shortages

Eli Lilly's obesity treatment drug, Zepbound, is now available in U.S. pharmacies with a monthly cost of $550 for customers without insurance coverage. Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's rival drug, Wegovy, are both GLP-1 agonists designed to treat type 2 diabetes but have shown effectiveness in reducing food cravings and slowing stomach emptying for weight loss. Wall Street analysts predict Zepbound sales to reach $2 billion in 2024, while sales of Wegovy are expected to hit $7.5 billion. Zepbound has been added to the preferred medicines list of Cigna's Express Scripts and will be added to Cigna's commercial formularies. CVS Health's Caremark is still reviewing Zepbound, and United Health's Optum Rx has not yet commented. Lilly's commercial savings card program offers discounts, with Zepbound costing as little as $25 for insured patients.