Novo Nordisk unveils DTC pharmacy NovoCare, offers discounted Wegovy

https://www.mmm-online.com/news/novo-nordisk-dtc-pharmacy-novocare-discounted-wegovy/

The home shipments — which will be fulfilled by CenterWell Pharmacy — include Wegovy injections of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg.

Novo Nordisk has officially entered the direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform game.

The Danish drugmaker unveiled NovoCare Pharmacy on Wednesday morning, offering home shipments of the popular GLP-1 Wegovy at $99 per month for cash-paying patients.

This is less than half of the current price for the drug for uninsured patients.

The home shipments — which will be fulfilled by CenterWell Pharmacy — include Wegovy injections of 0.25 mg, 0.5 mg, 1 mg, 1.7 mg and 2.4 mg.

In addition to the home delivery capabilities, the drugmaker said NovoCare will support patients with benefit verification, refill reminders as well as access to live support from a case manager.

“Novo Nordisk continues to advance solutions for patients that improve affordability and access to our medicines, whether they have insurance or not. Today, over 55 million people in the U.S. have coverage specifically for weight management medicines, and 90% of Wegovy patients with coverage pay $0 to $25 a month for Wegovy,” said Dave Moore, EVP of U.S. operations and global business development and president of Novo, in a statement. “With NovoCare Pharmacy, patients and prescribers alike have another option that provides convenient access to all doses of real, FDA-approved Wegovy at a reduced cost in our high-quality pen.”

In the release detailing the launch of NovoCare, the drugmaker acknowledged the prominence of compounded pharmacies and telehealth companies offering compounded versions of Wegovy and fellow GLP-1 Ozempic.

The company said NovoCare offers “reliable access to authentic, FDA-approved” Wegovy while alluding to the “dangers of fake or illegitimate” compounded semaglutide — the active ingredient in the drugs.

This comes on the heels of the FDA announcing an end to the shortage of Wegovy and Ozempic late last month after more than a year of ongoing scarcity challenges.

The launch also came nearly one month after Novo called out suppliers of compounded weight loss drugs in a print ad in The New York Times following Hims & Hers’ controversial Super Bowl ad.

In light of the announcement, Novo’s stock was trading up nearly 4% by noon.

Of note, Novo’s decision to offer discounted Wegovy also came one week after Eli Lilly announced that it would expand offerings of its hit weight loss drug Zepbound.

The drugmaker will now offer 7.5mg and 10mg doses of Zepbound, which uses the active ingredient tirzepatide, in single-dose vials.

The medications are available for $499 during a patient’s first month and refills that occur 45 days after through Lilly’s Self Pay Journey Program. Lilly also lowered the cost for its existing 2.5mg and 5mg vials.

With the introduction of NovoCare, Novo also now joins the ranks of Lilly and Pfizer in terms of Big Pharma companies that have rolled out DTC platforms within the past year.

In January 2024, Lilly debuted its LillyDirect service, which marked the first DTC push for GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound and Mounjaro.

A few months later, the company announced a partnership with Amazon to distribute select medications through LillyDirect.

Then, in August, Pfizer announced its digital DTC platform PfizerForAll.

In practice, PfizerForAll will provide patients with access to care services, prescription fills and options to save on medicines.

Through the site, consumers are able to make same-day in-person or telehealth appointments with independent healthcare professionals, sign up for home delivery of prescription medicines, OTC treatments or diagnostic tests, schedule vaccination appointments and pay for medicines or access Pfizer’s patient support services.

Pfizer directed consumers to visit the site at the end of its minute-long Super Bowl ad.

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