Working with Eli Lilly to offer Ro weight loss drug Zepbound vials

Ro of direct-to-consumer health care said on Wednesday the platform now it will offer cheaper single dose vials weight loss through a new drug partnership Zepbound Eli Lillywhich aims facilitate access popular treatment

Ro said it will offer an “end-to-end” experience on a single platform and app, allowing eligible patients to receive a diagnosis and prescription from Zepbound and have vials of the drug delivered to their homes. This is made possible through first-class integration with Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer website. LillyDirectwhich already offers home delivery Through a third-party digital pharmacy of Zepbound vials, The gift of health.

Gifthealth will provide the vials to patients who receive Zepbound prescriptions through a provider affiliated with Ro.

Zepbound vials are a cash-only product offered through LillyDirect, meaning patients pay for themselves with cash at a lower cost than the self-injection form of the drug. Pathways have the “cheapest” price for a brand-name GLP-1 drug before insurance, according to Ro. GLP-1, a class of drugs that mimic gut hormones to suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar, has seen a surge in demand over the past two years.

“Patients typically have to go to multiple places to get Lilly’s medicine, like a doctor’s office and a pharmacy,” Ro co-founder and CEO Zachariah Reitano told CNBC in an interview. “This integration creates a seamless patient experience where they don’t have to go anywhere else. They can access doctors, labs and a pharmacy all in one place that will give them access to Zepbound vials.”

Ro already runs a weight loss program that prescribes Zepbound in a single-dose pen that patients can inject directly into the skin with the click of a button. But that form of the drug is much more expensive than vials, costing about $1,000 a month before insurance.

Zepbound’s 2.5-milligram and 5-milligram single-dose vials cost $399 per month and $549 per month before insurance, respectively, to make the drug more affordable for those without insurance coverage. started Eli Lilly offer those containers through LillyDirect in August.

“Whether you’re covered by insurance or you want the cheapest brand-name GLP-1 cash payment, which is the Zepbound vials, you can get them all by coming to Ro,” Reitano said, noting the company will. help eligible patients determine which drug is best for their insurance.

He acknowledged that at roughly $400 to $500 a month Zepbound is “still out of reach for many, but now it’s a lot more than $1,000 or more.”

Reputation of Zepbound and expensive treatments Novo NordiskWegovy’s weight loss injection has led to a widespread shortage in the US. That problem has subsided after Eli Lilly and Nordisk raced to increase drug manufacturing capacity.

However, cheaper compounded versions of GLP-1 have gained traction amid a limited supply of the brand-name drug. Eli Lilly is working to expand access to the Zepbound brand in the fight against compounded versions of the drug.

Patrik Jonsson, Eli Lilly’s president of cardiometabolic health, said in a statement Tuesday that the goal of the new integration is to “break down barriers and provide patients with safe and effective options they can trust.”

The FDA is currently reconsidering its decision to remove Zepbound from its drug shortage list following a lawsuit from a trade association representing compounding pharmacies. Removing Zepbound from that deficiency list will essentially prevent compounding pharmacies from making custom versions of the drug.

If that ends up being the case, Reitano said Ro will “follow all applicable laws and guidelines” according to the FDA, and “will fight to ensure our patients have access to the most effective and affordable products.”