Novo Nordisk has made a higher-dose version of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy available across the United States.
The 7.2-milligram dose, branded as Wegovy HD, gained approval under the FDA Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher program last month.
Before the approval, the highest authorized dose of the injectable Wegovy for weight loss was 2.4 mg.
The company said the higher-dose Wegovy will be available through U.S. pharmacies, NovoCare Pharmacy and select telehealth providers.
Cash-paying adults prescribed Wegovy HD can expect to pay $399 per month, while commercially insured patients may pay as little as $25 per month using the Wegovy savings offer, Novo said.
Last month, Novo said it plans to launch a discounted subscription plan for U.S. Wegovy patients paying for the drug themselves, offering steep discounts to regain ground ceded to Eli Lilly in the obesity-drug market.
Federal regulators recently granted expedited approval to Eli Lilly’s new weight-loss pill, Foundayo, establishing it as the second daily oral medication for obesity and related conditions.
The drug, orforglipron, is a GLP-1 medication. It mimics a natural hormone controlling appetite and fullness, similar to injectable treatments. Shipments of Foundayo were set to begin this Monday.
Eli Lilly said insured patients could get the drug for $149 per month to $349 per month, depending on the dose. The pill joins Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy, which has seen over 600,000 US prescriptions since its December approval.
In a clinical trial of more than 3,000 adults with obesity, participants who received the highest dose of orforglipron, 36 milligrams, lost 11.2% of their body weight –- about 25 pounds on average –- over more than 16 months.
That compared with a 2.1% weight loss, or less than 5 pounds, in patients who received a placebo, or dummy pill, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
