Novo Nordisk Launches $349 Wegovy Cash Price Early

Novo Nordisk announced on Monday that it has started selling its well-known weight-loss medication Wegovy to cash payers for $349 per month, months ahead of the schedule agreed upon with the Trump administration.

Except for the highest 2 mg dose, which will continue to cost $499, the majority of doses of Novo’s diabetic medication Ozempic will have the same cash price, according to the firm.

Wegovy and Ozempic, both chemically known as semaglutide, will now cost $350 per month for cash payers beginning in January, down from $499, according to a deal Novo and US President Donald Trump announced earlier this month.

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Pricing Competition Among Drugmakers

Eli Lilly, a competing company in the United States, also revealed that starting in January, the lowest dose of its obesity medication Zepbound would be available for $299 per month, with further doses costing $449 per month for cash-paying patients.

Monday’s action, according to Novo, was a part of a larger effort to increase access to “authentic, FDA-approved semaglutide-based medicines.”

This year, the Danish pharmaceutical company has had difficulty fending off competition from pharmacies and telehealth providers providing less expensive versions of Wegovy, as well as from Lilly, which moved more quickly to give its medication to cash payers.

Major Leadership and Strategy Shifts at Novo Nordisk

In August, Novo announced a significant shift with the appointment of Mike Doustdar as CEO. Doustdar swiftly set the stage for a massive business revamp and 9,000 layoffs across the globe.

Additionally, Novo said on Monday that the lowest two dosages of Wegovy and Ozempic are now available for $199 per month as part of an introductory offer. Any new patients who pay cash for the medications between now and March 31, 2026, are eligible for the two-month deal.

The government’s Medicare and Medicaid programs would purchase the businesses’ injectable obesity medications at a net monthly cost of $245.