Trump reaches agreement with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk: GLP-1 weight-loss drugs see largest price cut in history—$245 per month

U.S. President Trump announced on Thursday an agreement with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to significantly reduce the prices of certain weight-loss medications—including soon-to-be-launched oral formulations. This means that, starting mid-2026, Medicare will for the first time cover select weight-loss drugs for certain patients. Analysts believe this move could expand the market for such medications and prompt more private insurers to offer coverage. Some Medicare beneficiaries, when using GLP-1 injectables or oral medications (including for diabetes and weight management) under approved indications, will pay only $50 per month out-of-pocket. A senior government official—who requested anonymity—told reporters during a Thursday briefing that the introductory dose pricing for newly launched oral weight-loss drugs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk (following FDA approval) will be uniformly set at $145 per month across Medicare, Medicaid, and the TrumpRx channel. Novo Nordisk’s oral version of Wegovy may enter the U.S. market by year-end, while Lilly’s oral drug orforglipron is expected to launch next year. Another senior government official told reporters that existing injectable products—including Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Lilly’s Zepbound—will be priced at $350 per month for the introductory dose on TrumpRx, but will “gradually decline” over two years to $245 per month. Trump stated that Wegovy and Zepbound had previously not been covered by Medicare for weight-loss use—and “Medicaid coverage was also extremely rare.” “Consumers typically paid over $1,000 per month, sometimes far more… That ends today.” Media reports describe these agreements as among the most politically significant announcements to date in the Trump administration’s efforts to curb soaring U.S. drug prices and tie domestic pricing to the lowest international prices. As part of Trump’s ‘Most Favored Nation’ policy, he has already announced agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and EMD Serono to sell certain drugs directly to patients at discounted prices—in exchange for waiving planned pharmaceutical tariffs. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated at the briefing: “This is the most important class of drugs in our nation—and therefore the most important of all our ‘Most Favored Nation’ announcements.” “It will have the greatest impact on the American people. All Americans—not just those enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare—will gain access to GLP-1 medications at the same price.” Kennedy claimed that, by this time next year, Americans will collectively lose 125 million pounds (approximately 56.7 million kilograms) as a result—and that expanded access will produce a “substantial impact” on public health. Following the announcement, Novo Nordisk’s U.S. ADRs briefly rose before falling about 3%; Lilly’s shares fluctuated and then edged slightly higher. Improving accessibility to weight-loss medications

Major progress for the Most Favored Nation policy! Trump administration stirs up the U.S. GLP-1 market

Text length: 1,000 characters Estimated reading time: 5 minutes On November 6, 2025, soft lighting bathed the White House, and the atmosphere was solemn. U.S. President Trump appeared alongside Davis Ricks, CEO of Eli Lilly, and Maziar Mike Doustdar, CEO of Novo Nordisk, at a White House press conference announcing a historic drug-pricing agreement between the United States and the “weight-loss duopoly.” Under the agreement, beginning in 2026, certain Medicare-covered populations will gain access to GLP-1 medications from both companies at substantially discounted prices—a development expected to broaden market reach and encourage broader insurance coverage. To accelerate implementation, discounted versions of these drugs will be made available through the TrumpRx (“Trump Pharmacy”) direct-to-consumer channel. According to a White House fact sheet detailing the new deal, purchase prices via the TrumpRx platform will be: · Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk reduced from $1,000 and $1,350 per month to $350 per month, respectively. · Should the FDA approve Wegovy’s oral tablet—or other similar, currently-in-development oral (non-injectable) GLP-1 drugs—their introductory-dose pricing will be set at $150 per month. · Lilly’s Zepbound and its upcoming orforglipron will drop from $1,086 per month to an average of $346 per month. This pricing may help expedite FDA approval of orforglipron. Additionally, the agreement extends discounts to other Lilly and Novo Nordisk products sold via TrumpRx. For example: · Novo Nordisk will supply widely used insulin products—including NovoLog and Tresiba—at $35 per month. · Lilly will offer the common diabetes drug Trulicity at $389 per month—$598 less than its list price. · Lilly will also provide Emgality, used for migraine treatment, at $299 per pen—$443 below its list price. Moreover, both Lilly and Novo Nordisk have pledged that all future new drugs launched in the U.S. market will carry the “Most Favored Nation” price. Novo Nordisk has committed to investing an additional $10 billion in the U.S., including guaranteeing domestic manufacturing of semaglutide oral tablets upon FDA approval.

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