The American manufacturer of the weight-loss jab Mounjaro has agreed to give private pharmacies a discount amid a transatlantic row over drugs pricing.
Eli Lilly announced two weeks ago that it would more than double the list price for Mounjaro after President Trump complained that the UK was “freeloading”.
More than 1.5 million British patients buy the drug from private pharmacies. Many have warned that they would struggle to afford the medication after the price rise on Monday and would switch to Wegovy, Mounjaro’s main rival.
Lilly’s discount will soften the blow of the price rises for British Mounjaro users
NIALL CARSON/PA
In response to the pressure, Lilly has now announced that private pharmacies in the UK will get a discount which could take up to £82 off the price. The NHS had already negotiated a deal to avoid paying a higher price.
The list price for the highest 15mg dose will go from £122 to £330 from September 1, while the rate for a middle-sized 5mg dose will go from £92 to £180.
Pharmacies will get an extra discount on top of this to make Mounjaro more affordable for patients, meaning the highest dose will increase to only £247.50, as first reported by Sky News.
Olivier Picard, chairman of the National Pharmacy Association, said: “This rebate will mitigate some of the impact of the increase in Mounjaro prices faced by pharmacies, but patients should still anticipate seeing a rise in prices.
“Prices advertised in many pharmacies will already reflect this discount and pharmacies will also have to wait to receive this discount retrospectively after dispensing.
“Pharmacies will access price rebates if they can as a way of keeping prices accessible. Pharmacies are working hard to support their patients and explore if there are options to minimise disruption to their treatment programme.”
Lilly said: “We are working with private providers on commercial arrangements to maintain affordability and expect these to be passed onto patients when the change is effective on September 1. We are already seeing providers respond in different ways to the list price change, with a range of options available for eligible patients. We also want to work in partnership with the government to expand NHS access for eligible patients.”
Deliveries of Mounjaro in the UK were halted on Wednesday as people rushed to stockpile the drug before the price increase. Pharmacy leaders urged Wes Streeting, the health secretary, to step in and help to reach a solution with Lilly so that patients were not left without the medication.
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, the chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said: “As patients up and down the country who rely on Mounjaro are left in limbo it is time for the health secretary to step up and step in. Ministers can’t simply wash their hands of responsibility as desperate patients are unable to get Mounjaro. The government’s ‘I’m all right, Jack’ approach simply won’t wash.
“Just because the NHS has secured a deal on price for the tiny percentage of Mounjaro patients who access it through the health service, ministers have said they can’t intervene. Try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of patients who access Mounjaro privately and are visiting their local pharmacy in droves anxious and desperate.
“The government’s do-nothing stance is a betrayal of those patients trapped in this chaotic uncertainty.”