Patients will have access to Zepbound single-dose vials at Ro.
Provided by: Law
Direct-to-consumer healthcare startup Ro Inc. announced Wednesday that its platform will offer single-dose vials of its weight loss drug Zepbound at more affordable prices through a new partnership with the company. Eli Lillywhich aims to streamline access to popular treatments.
Ro said it provides a “complete end-to-end” experience on a single platform and app, allowing eligible patients to receive a Zepbound diagnosis and prescription, and have a vial of the drug delivered to their home. . This is made possible through an unprecedented integration with LillyDirect, Eli Lilly’s direct-to-consumer website. LillyDirect already offers home delivery of Zepbound vials through third-party digital pharmacy Gifthealth.
Gifthealth will dispense the vials to patients who receive Zepbound prescriptions through providers partnered with Ro.
Zepbound Vials are a cash-pay product offered exclusively through LillyDirect. This means patients pay out-of-pocket in cash at a lower cost than auto-injector-style medications. Ro said the vial is the “most affordable” price for a brand-name GLP-1 drug before insurance coverage. GLP-1 is a type of drug that suppresses appetite and regulates blood sugar levels, similar to intestinal hormones, and demand has soared over the past two years.
“Patients typically go through multiple steps to get Lilly’s medicine, including going to the doctor’s office and then to the pharmacy,” Zakaria Reitano, Ro’s co-founder and CEO, said in an interview with CNBC. I have to go to that place,” he said. “This integration will create a seamless patient experience without having to go elsewhere. Patients will have access to their doctor, lab, pharmacy, and Zepbound vials all in one place.”
Ro runs a weight-loss program that already prescribes Zepbound in a single-dose auto-injector pen that patients can inject directly under the skin with the click of a button. But this form of the drug is much more expensive than the vial, costing about $1,000 a month before insurance.
Zepbound’s 2.5-milligram and 5-milligram single-dose vials are priced at $399 per month and $549 per month, respectively, before insurance, making the drug more accessible to those without insurance. Eli Lilly began offering these vials through LillyDirect in August.
“Whether you have insurance or want cash-based GLP-1 (Zepbound vials) from the most affordable brand, you can get it all when you come to Ro,” Reitano said, adding that the company Allow a patient to decide which form of medication is best for them based on their insurance.
He acknowledged that Zepbound’s monthly price of about $400 to $500 is “still out of reach for many people, but it’s now much more affordable than $1,000 or more.”
Patients will have access to Zepbound single-dose vials at Ro.
Provided by: Law
Zepbound novo nordiskWegovy, an injectable weight-loss drug, has caused shortages in the United States, but the problem has subsided after Eli Lilly and Nordisk competed to increase manufacturing capacity for the drug.
Still, with limited supply of branded drugs, cheaper combination versions of GLP-1 are gaining traction. Eli Lilly is believed to be working to expand access to its branded Zepbound in a bid to crack down on compounded versions of the drug.
Patrick Jonsson, president of Eli Lilly’s cardiometabolic health division, said in a release Tuesday that the goal of the new combination is to “break down barriers and provide patients with reliable, safe and effective options.” .
The FDA is currently reconsidering its decision to remove Zepbound from the drug shortage list following a lawsuit from a trade group representing compounding pharmacies. Removing Zepbound from the shortage list would prevent pharmacies from producing custom versions of the drug.
If that ultimately happens, Roe said he would “follow all applicable laws and guidelines” under the FDA and “ensure that patients have access to the most effective and most affordable products.” ,” Reitano said.
