Three updates on the drug class:
1. Costs, access and uptake
Despite high demand for GLP-1s — which are approved to treat Type 2 diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease and sleep apnea — commercial insurance plans have not loosened restrictions.
About 6 million people lost coverage of these drugs between 2024 and 2025, according to a GoodRx report. More than 80% of people with commercial coverage of the drugs have restrictions, including prior authorization or step therapy, the report found.
The medications can cost upward of $1,000 for a four-week supply. And with overall pharmacy costs continuing to rise, health plans are trying to wrangle control — with varying success. At the same time, the drugmakers are launching new offerings aimed at expanding access.
In late February, Eli Lilly began selling higher doses of Zepbound, a weight loss drug, for $499 at first fill. The 7.5-milligram and 10-milligram single-dose vials are then sold for $599 and $699, respectively, through its direct-to-consumer platform.
Of the 1 million U.S. residents who use Zepbound, about 100,000 buy the drug through Eli Lilly’s platform, according to NPR.
Novo Nordisk unveiled a similar offering March 5 with its NovoCare Pharmacy, which sells all approved doses of Wegovy, its popular weight loss drug, for $499 per month.
2. Compounding pharmacies
On Feb. 21, the FDA declared the shortage of semaglutide, the active pharmaceutical ingredient of Ozempic and Wegovy, as over. For more than two years, compounding pharmacies have been churning out semaglutide solutions, but the announcement of the resolved shortage marked the end of this allowance.
Compounding pharmacies are permitted to manufacture and sell generic versions of medications on the FDA’s official drug shortage list. Now, compounding pharmacies and physicians must stop selling compounded semaglutide by April 22, and outsourcing facilities have until May 22 to cease production and distribution.
Companies can still create semaglutide if they alter the dosage, add other ingredients or alter the administration method, according to Fortune.
3. New study findings
There are countless studies being conducted on GLP-1s. Here are two notable findings from the last few weeks:
- A 96-week trial found that exenatide, a GLP-1 used to treat Type 2 diabetes, showed no benefit in slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Other studies have indicated that GLP-1s have the therapeutic potential for the degenerative brain disorder that affects 500,000 Americans, but research on this is in its early stages.
- Researchers reported that tirzepatide, the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound, could be an effective alternative treatment for congenital generalized lipodystrophy. The rare disorder is characterized by a virtual absence of fat tissue, making the common treatment of metreleptin injections painful, according to the study’s first author, Svetlana Ten, MD.
