Trump announces deals with Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk to slash weight loss drug prices, offer some Medicare coverage

President Donald Trump connected Thursday announced deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to slash the prices of immoderate of their obesity drugs, including upcoming pills, successful a landmark effort to grow entree to the costly blockbuster treatments.

The agreements volition chopped prices of alleged GLP-1 drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries successful 2026 and connection the treatments straight to consumers astatine a discount connected a website the Trump medication is launching successful January called TrumpRx.gov.

That means Medicare volition commencement covering obesity drugs for immoderate patients for the archetypal clip starting mid-2026, a long-awaited determination that could broaden the marketplace for the medicines and spur much backstage insurers to screen them. Certain Medicare patients volition wage a copay of $50 per period for each approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatment.

Starting doses of upcoming obesity pills from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, pending approvals, volition beryllium $145 per month for everyone getting them done Medicare, Medicaid oregon TrumpRx, a elder medication authoritative who declined to beryllium named told reporters during a briefing Thursday. Novo Nordisk's oral mentation of its obesity injection Wegovy could participate the marketplace year-end, portion Eli Lilly's pill orforglipron could motorboat adjacent year.

Starting doses of existing injections similar Novo's Wegovy and Lilly's Zepbound volition beryllium $350 per period connected TrumpRX, but volition "trend down" to $245 per period implicit a two-year period, different elder medication authoritative said during the briefing.

The deals are among the astir politically important announcements to day successful the Trump administration's propulsion to rein successful precocious U.S. cause costs by tying them to the lowest prices abroad. As portion of the president's "most favored nation" policy, helium has announced deals with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and EMD Serono to merchantability definite drugs straight to patients astatine a discount, successful speech for exemptions from planned pharmaceutical tariffs.

The database prices of existing obesity drugs – astir $1,000 to $1,350 per period earlier security – are a immense obstruction for patients, galore of whom could payment from their quality to beforehand value nonaccomplishment and easiness different related wellness complications specified arsenic cardiovascular risks and sleep apnea. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk already person programs to merchantability their value nonaccomplishment drugs astatine a discount straight to cash-paying consumers, but the caller agreements look to instrumentality those efforts to boost entree a measurement further. 

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly person agreed to chopped the terms Medicare pays for GLP-1s it already covers for diabetes and different indications, on with those drugs for obesity, to $245 per month. The companies agreed to widen little authorities pricing for their GLP-1 drugs – $245 per period crossed each different non-starting doses – to each 50 Medicaid programs for each covered uses. States volition person to opt into those prices, meaning immoderate whitethorn not.

But Medicare sum could person a bigger interaction connected who gets the drugs due to the fact that the programme covers astir 66 cardinal people, and is the superior root of security for radical ages 65 and above. The caller obesity cause sum volition beryllium enabled done a aviator programme designed to screen a bulk of beneficiaries nether Medicare Part D, which are the program's medicine cause plans.

Another elder medication authoritative said astir 10% of Medicare beneficiaries volition beryllium eligible to person GLP-1s for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. Eligible patients volition autumn into 3 cohorts. The archetypal includes those who are overweight, with a assemblage wide scale greater than 27 oregon with prediabetes oregon established cardiovascular disease.

The 2nd radical is radical with obesity – with a BMI greater than 30 – and uncontrolled hypertension, kidney illness oregon bosom failure. The 3rd radical is patients with terrible obesity, oregon anyone with a BMI greater than 35.

GLP-1s for value nonaccomplishment are approved for a overmuch broader population: radical who person obesity oregon are overweight with 1 related condition. The medication authoritative said, "We are constraining the entree for patients that volition payment clinically from it, we've worked precise hard to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt wide entree that conscionable makes definite to seizure patients that volition payment clinically."

As portion of the deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk besides made akin pledges to the ones different drugmakers person made arsenic portion of Trump's astir favored federation agreements. The companies volition warrant astir favored federation pricing connected each caller medicines they bring to market, supply that pricing to each authorities Medicaid program, connection astatine slightest U.S. nett prices oregon astir favored federation pricing connected astir each superior attraction drugs connected TrumpRx and stock savings from overseas cause terms increases connected existing products, 1 elder medication authoritative said. 

Also connected Thursday, Eli Lilly said it would little prices by $50 connected its ain direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound astatine a discount to cash-paying patients. The multi-dose pen of Zepbound volition beryllium disposable astatine $299 per period astatine the lowest dose, with further doses being priced up to $449 per month. 

Eli Lilly's pill, erstwhile approved, volition beryllium disposable astatine the lowest dose starting astatine $149 per month. 

In a connection Thursday, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said the woody marks "a pivotal infinitesimal successful U.S. wellness attraction argumentation and a defining milestone for Lilly," which is focused connected "improving outcomes, strengthening the U.S. healthcare system, and contributing to the wellness of our federation for generations to come."

In a abstracted statement, Novo Nordisk CEO Mike Doustdar said "today's announcement volition bring semaglutide medicines to much American patients astatine a little cost." Semaglutide is the progressive constituent successful Wegovy and Ozempic.

It's not the archetypal clip the authorities has floated Medicare sum of obesity drugs. Former President Joe Biden projected a regularisation astatine the extremity of his word that would person allowed the programme to screen those treatments, but the Trump medication successful April declined to finalize the measure. 

Biden's connection would person extended entree to astir 3.4 cardinal Medicare beneficiaries. But it was arguable astatine the time, arsenic it would outgo taxpayers arsenic overmuch arsenic $35 billion implicit 9 years, a legislature investigation found.

But immoderate wellness experts reason that covering the drugs could destruct the downstream costs progressive with treating obesity-related conditions. 

Semaglutide is besides included successful helium adjacent circular of Medicare cause terms negotiations nether the Inflation Reduction Act, which Biden signed into instrumentality successful 2022. Trump is expected to unveil the caller prices of the 15 drugs selected for those talks by Nov. 30. 

Tirzepatide, the progressive constituent successful Eli Lilly's Zepbound and diabetes injection Mounjaro, apt won't beryllium eligible for those negotiations until the extremity of the decade.