Boxes of Ozempic and Mounjaro injection drugs used for treating type 2 diabetes.George Frey/Reuters
U.S. drug maker Eli Lilly & Co. is slashing the prices of its popular diabetes and weight-loss drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound by 20 per cent or more ahead of new regulations and the coming entry of generic Ozempic into the Canadian market.
In a note to pharmacies Wednesday night, Eli Lilly said the Canadian list price of a four-week supply of Mounjaro or Zepbound would be lowered to $300 for 2.5 milligram and 5 milligram dosages; to $420 for dosages of 7.5 and 10 milligrams; and to $540 for 12.5 and 15 milligram dosages. The new prices take effect on Dec. 29.
The current wholesale prices of the drugs, which include a 5.5-per-cent distributor markup, are between $398.79 and $797.58, depending on dosage.
(Retail costs for individual patients can vary depending on pharmacy, insurance coverage, discounts and other factors.)
The price drops are taking place just a few months after Eli Lilly raised the prices of the drugs as part of a corporate strategy to move patients to a more expensive type of injector pen, and in response to U.S. pressure on drug makers to raise prices in other countries.
Eli Lilly announced at a White House event in November that it was lowering the U.S. prices of Mounjaro and Zepbound to between US$299 and US$449. That means the prices in the U.S. are still higher than those in Canada after currency conversion.
Eli Lilly’s notice did not explain the reasons for the price drops in Canada. But they take effect days before two other important regulatory and legal milestones.
On Jan. 1, a federal pricing regulator called the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board will begin following new guidelines under which it will launch in-depth reviews of medications if their prices in Canada are higher than in certain other international markets, or if the drugs’ prices are rising faster than inflation.
And after Jan. 4, generic forms of Ozempic and Wegovy – the blockbuster diabetes and obesity drugs from Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk – become legal in Canada. Those generic drugs are expected to cost patients around $100 for four weeks once at least three of them hit the market.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have been in a fierce global competition to meet the massive demand for diabetes and weight-loss drugs. Eli Lilly has been winning the race in the United States this year, disclosing in its third-quarter earnings last month that its share of the U.S. market for these drugs was 57.9 per cent. That helped make the company the first drug maker to hit a US$1-trillion market capitalization.
However, it has been behind in Canada. Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic was the best-selling drug in Canada for the first nine months of the year, according to aggregated prescription data collected by IQVIA Canada. Ozempic earned $2.1-billion at retail pharmacies up to Sept. 30, while Wegovy earned $441-million. Mounjaro earned $254-million and had less than a tenth of the prescription volume of the Novo Nordisk drugs.