Ro, in collaboration with Eli Lilly, offers bottles of the weight loss drug Zepbound
Patients have access to Zepbound single-dose vials at Ro
Courtesy: Ro
Direct-to-consumer healthcare startup Ro announced Wednesday that its platform will now offer cheaper single-dose vials of the weight loss drug Zepbound through a new partnership with Eli Lillywhich aims to simplify access to the popular treatment.
Ro said it will provide a “complete end-to-end” experience on a single platform and app, allowing eligible patients to receive a diagnosis and prescription for Zepbound and have vials of the drug delivered to their home. This is made possible through a unique integration with Eli Lilly's direct-to-consumer website LillyDirect, which already offers home delivery of Zepbound bottles through a third-party digital pharmacy, Gifthealth.
Gifthealth will distribute the vials to patients who receive Zepbound prescriptions through a Ro-affiliated provider.
Zepbound Bottles are a cash-only product offered only through LillyDirect. This means patients pay for it themselves with cash at a lower cost than the auto-injection form of the drug. According to Ro, the vials have the “cheapest” price of a branded drug GLP-1 without insurance. Demand for GLP-1 drugs, which mimic gut hormones to suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar, has skyrocketed in the past two years.
“Patients typically have to go to multiple locations to get Lilly's medication, such as the doctor's office and then a pharmacy,” said Zachariah Reitano, co-founder and CEO of Ro, in an interview with CNBC. “This integration truly creates a seamless patient experience where they don’t have to go anywhere else. They can access doctors, labs and a pharmacy all in one place, giving them access to Zepbound vials.”
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 push of a button. But this form of the drug is far more expensive than vials, costing about $1,000 a month without insurance.
Zepbound's 2.5-milligram and 5-milligram single-dose vials cost $399 per month and $549 per month, respectively, without insurance, making them more accessible to those who don't have insurance coverage for the drug. Eli Lilly began offering these bottles through LillyDirect in August.
“Whether you have insurance or you want the lowest priced cash-only branded GLP-1, which is the Zepbound vials, you can get it all by coming to Ro,” Reitano said, noting that Companies will help eligible patients determine which form of the drug is best for them based on their insurance.
He acknowledged that about $400 to $500 a month for Zepbound “is still out of reach for many, but now it's far more attainable than” $1,000 or more.
Patients have access to Zepbound single-dose vials at Ro
Courtesy: Ro
The popularity of expensive treatments like Zepbound and Novo NordiskWegovy, the weight-loss drug, has caused widespread shortages in the United States. This problem has now subsided after Eli Lilly and Nordisk made efforts to increase production capacity for the drugs.
Still, cheaper compounded versions of GLP-1 have gained traction given the limited supply of brand-name drugs. Eli Lilly is working to expand access to its branded product Zepbound, in what appears to be an attempt to crack down on compounded versions of the drug.
Patrik Jonsson, Eli Lilly's president of cardiometabolic health, said in a news release Tuesday that the goal of the new integration is to “break down barriers and provide patients with safe and effective options they can rely on.”
The FDA is currently reconsidering its decision to remove Zepbound from the drug shortage list after a lawsuit was filed by a trade association representing drug pharmacies. Removing Zepbound from this shortage list essentially prevents drug manufacturing pharmacies from producing customized versions of the drug.
If that happens, Reitano said Ro will “follow all applicable laws and FDA guidelines” as well as “fight to ensure our patients have access to the most effective and affordable products.”
