Eli Lilly is cutting cash prices on vials of its weight loss drug Zepbound

Eli Lilly It said Monday it would lower cash prices for single-dose vials of blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound on its direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, based on efforts by the company and the Trump administration to make the drug more available.

The announcement also comes weeks after its main competitor Novo Nordisk It revealed additional discounts on cash prices for obesity and diabetes medications.

Starting Monday, cash-paying patients with a valid prescription can get the initial dose of Zepbound vials for $299 per month on LillyDirect, down from the previous price of $349 per month. They can also get the next dose — 5 milligrams — for $399 per month and all other doses for $449 per month, down from $499 per month across those sizes.

Zepbound carries a list price of around $1,086 per month. This price point, and spotty insurance coverage for weight-loss medications in the United States, have been significant barriers to access for some patients.

Eli Lilly’s announcement comes just weeks after President Donald Trump signed deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to make it easier for Americans to obtain and afford GLP-1 drugs. The agreements will lower the prices the government pays for drugs, offer Medicare coverage for obesity drugs for the first time to some patients and offer discounted medications on the government’s new direct-to-consumer website launched in January, TrumpRx.

But Eli Lilly’s deal with Trump revolves around lowering prices for a variant of Zepbound — a multi-dose pen — after it receives FDA approval.

That means Eli Lilly’s announcement Monday about lowering prices on existing single-dose vials may allow more patients to get discounted treatments more quickly.

“We will continue working to provide more options — expanding options for delivery devices and creating new pathways for access — so more people can get the medications they need,” Ilya Yuva, Lilly USA’s president and global customer capabilities, said in a statement.

With single-dose vials, patients need to use a syringe and needle to withdraw the medication and inject themselves. Eli Lilly first introduced this type of Zepbound in August 2024.

It is unclear how many patients are currently taking single-dose vials of Zepbound. But Eli Lilly previously said direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of new prescriptions for Zepbound.

Novo Nordisk earlier this month reduced the price of obesity drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic for existing cash-paying patients to $349 per month from $499 per month. This excludes the highest dose of Ozempic.

The company also launched a temporary introductory offer, which will allow new cash-paying patients to get the lowest of the two doses of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 per month for the first two months of treatment.