Lilly adds another sales channel for obesity drug Zepbound
Ro co-founder and chief executive Zach Reitano
Telehealth company Ro will offer single-dose vials of Eli Lilly's obesity therapy Zepbound in an expansion of the ways patients with a prescription can access the drug.
The agreement means Ro has become the first alternative to Lilly's recently launched LillyDirect direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform that will be able to offer the lower-cost version of Zepbound (tirzepatide) made available in August.
Through LillyDirect, patients can access Zepbound at a monthly cost of $550 for a 5mg shot, half the $1,060 list price offered to insurers before discounts or rebates and the same price someone without insurance would pay with a Zepbound savings card. The 2.5mg vial is available at $399 per month.
Lilly claims the single-dose versions cost at least 50% less than the list price of other incretin medicines for obesity.
"Offering Zepbound single-dose vials…through another platform to LillyDirect will help ensure broader availability of rigorously tested, FDA-approved and regulated obesity treatment,” said Patrik Jonsson, president of Lilly Cardiometabolic Health and Lilly USA.
"Our goal is to break down barriers and provide patients with safe and effective options they can rely on," he added.
In a statement, Ro said it will make Zepbound available as a treatment option with an on-label prescription from a Ro-affiliated provider that will be integrated with the LillyDirect self-pay pharmacy channel.
Ro was launched (as Roman) in 2017 and initially focused on men's health issues like erectile dysfunction before expanding its offering into new areas like women's health, dermatology, smoking cessation, fertility, and weight management.
Latterly, it has also started to offer compounded versions of Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 agonist drug semaglutide, sold as Wegovy for obesity - something it was legally able to do while it was on FDA medicine shortage lists although that status may be coming to an end.
Ro has raised more than a billion dollars since it was set up, but has resisted the lure of a public listing despite flirting with the idea of merging with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) a few years ago.
"Lilly’s release of Zepbound single-dose vials at a lower, self-pay-only price was groundbreaking and reflects the patient-centric model upon which Ro was founded," said the DTC telehealth startup's co-founder and chief executive Zach Reitano.
"This integration further streamlines access to the only approved dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist without patients ever having to leave the Ro app, let alone leave their home," he added.
