Eli Lilly, Walmart offers a discounted retail option for Zepbound

Eli Lilly and Walmart He said Wednesday they have teamed up to expand access to the drugmaker’s weight-loss drug Zepbound, allowing U.S. patients to get vials of the blockbuster injection at direct-to-consumer prices through retail locations for the first time.

This announcement comes at a time when Eli Lilly is working to maintain its dominance over its competitor Novo Nordisk In the booming market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1s. It also comes as the Trump administration pressures drugmakers to make it easier for Americans to obtain medications by pushing them to use direct-to-consumer models that eliminate middlemen.

Beginning in mid-November, cash-paying patients with a prescription can purchase single-dose vials of Zepbound at discounts of 50% or more off list price through retailer locations or via home delivery. Walmart, which operates approximately 4,600 pharmacies across the U.S., will serve as the first in-store pharmacy pickup option for Zepbound vials through Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer cash payment platform, LillyDirect.

It’s LillyDirect’s first retail collaboration since its launch in January 2024, following partnerships with several telehealth companies. Eli Lilly did not provide an estimate for how much Walmart’s offering expands Zepbound’s reach. But Walmart’s nationwide footprint makes it the largest retailer in the U.S., Jennifer Mazur, LillyDirect’s general manager, told CNBC in an interview.

Walmart is the fifth-largest pharmacy in the U.S., based on its total revenue from prescription dispensing in 2024. The partnership could help Eli Lilly maintain its competitive edge over Novo Nordisk as the Danish drugmaker expands access to its weight-loss drug Wegovy through a deal with CVS and its pharmacy benefits manager, Caremark.

Single-dose vials of Zepbound cost $349 per month for the initial dose, and $499 per month for all other doses. This price point is consistent via LillyDirect home delivery or Walmart pickup options.

As for whether patients will choose pick-up or delivery, Mazur said, “I think it all comes down to the individual and their lifestyle and how they choose to get health care.”

“Our goal is really to meet as many people where they are and give them more choice and more convenience and continue to offer people price transparency,” she continued.

Mazur said LillyDirect has seen “tremendous take-up” of home delivery, but observant consumers may prefer to go in person because they have an established relationship with a local pharmacist or find it more convenient to pick up prescriptions at a neighborhood pharmacy.

LillyDirect, which launched more than a year ago from Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer platform, has helped Eli Lilly gain a leg up on its competition.

Direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of new prescriptions for Zepbound, Mazur said. She said the company reached an inflection point after August 2024, when Eli Lilly began offering Zepbound vials for cash at more than 50% below the drug’s list price.

Mazur said Eli Lilly shares the Trump administration’s goal of making FDA-approved medications more accessible and affordable for Americans.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with management to achieve our shared goals and will continue to innovate with LillyDirect,” she said.

President Donald Trump is working to strike drug pricing deals with drug companies as part of his controversial “most favored nation” policy, which aims to tie U.S. drug prices to the lowest prices in other developed countries.

Trump has so far announced agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca And EMD Serono, the world’s largest manufacturer of fertility drugs, but not Eli Lilly.