First GLP-1 pill for obesity from Novo Nordisk launches in the U.S.

Novo Nordisk will start rolling out the first-ever GLP-1 pill for weight loss in the U.S. on Monday, the company announced, marking a new chapter of obesity treatment in the U.S. 

The drug’s cash prices are among the lowest on the market, ranging from $149 to $299 per month, depending on the dose. That fuels hopes that pills could help address the longstanding affordability hurdles tied to the weekly injections dominating the weight loss drug market.

The official launch of the oral drug, called the Wegovy pill, comes just two weeks after U.S. regulators cleared the treatment. 

The starting dose of 1.5 milligrams is available at more than 70,000 U.S. pharmacies such as CVS and Costco, as well as select telehealth providers, including Ro, LifeMD, Weight Watchers, GoodRx and Novo Nordisk’s NovoCare Pharmacy. The higher, remaining doses of the pill will be available to patients by the end of the week, Novo Nordisk said. 

Cash-paying patients can pay $149 per month for the starting dose. The 4-milligram dose of the pill will also be available for $149 per month through April 15, then $199 per month after that. 

The highest doses of the Wegovy pill – 9 milligrams and 25 milligrams – will be available for $299 per month. Patients with insurance coverage for the drug can pay as little as $25 per month for the treatment. 

Cash-paying patients will also be able to access the starting dose of the pill for $149 per month on President Donald Trump’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, under a deal Novo Nordisk struck with his administration in November. The site also launches in January, though it’s unclear when. 

Novo Nordisk on Monday said the pill’s availability “opens new possibilities” for the more than 100 million Americans living with obesity. 

Injections from Novo Nordisk and its chief rival, Eli Lilly, carry a list price of roughly $1,000 per month. But both companies offer lower cash-pay prices for their shots that range from $299 to $499 monthly, depending on the dose. 

Pills are the next battleground for the two companies, which established the booming GLP-1 space that some analysts say could be worth roughly $100 billion by the 2030s. Goldman Sachs analysts said in August that oral drugs could capture a 24% share — or around $22 billion — of the 2030 global weight loss drug market.

The launch of Novo Nordisk’s daily oral drug on Monday gives the company a clear head start. The Food and Drug Administration approved the treatment on Dec. 22 and will decide whether to clear a rival pill from Eli Lilly later this year. 

The FDA also approved Novo Nordisk’s pill for use to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as death, heart attack or stroke, in adults with obesity and established cardiovascular disease. 

That’s consistent with the approval label of the company’s blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, which shares the same active ingredient, semaglutide. Both work by mimicking the gut hormone GLP-1 to suppress appetite.

“This moment is about changing what’s possible in weight management, and to make that possible, we have worked to ensure [the Wegovy pill] is affordable and accessible to those who need it, however they choose to receive their care,” said Ed Cinca, Novo Nordisk’s senior vice president of marketing & patient solutions, in a release. 

People who take Novo Nordisk’s pill have to wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking each day.

In a phase three trial that followed more than 300 adults with obesity, the highest dose of Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide helped patients lose up to 16.6% of their weight on average after 64 weeks. That weight loss was 13.6% when the company analyzed all patients regardless of whether they stopped the drug.

The pill appears to be slightly more effective than Eli Lilly’s experimental oral drug, which does not have dietary restrictions.