By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Online weight-loss company Noom said on Monday it would sell copies of Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy at an introductory price of $119 for up to a quarter of the branded drug’s standard dose, giving patients a less costly way to try the medication.
After the first month, Noom’s price for compounded semaglutide, the generic name for Wegovy, rises to $199 a month for a maximum 0.6-milligram dose, compared to the branded version’s typical dose of 2.4 mg.
The move presents more price pressure for brand-name manufacturers, who have been lowering prices to compete in the cash-pay market.
Targeting the GLP-1 protein, weight-loss drugs slow digestion and make people feel fuller but often lead to gastrointestinal side effects. In clinical trials, they have resulted in people losing 15% to 20% of their body weight.
Wegovy clinical trials did not evaluate doses as low as 0.6 mg. But research presented in May found a half dose of semaglutide was as effective in weight loss as the regular dose.
Noom said its program’s lower dose allows it to make the product more affordable and boosts adherence because smaller doses can mean fewer side effects.
“Obviously with less medicine, there’s less cost and we pass it on as savings to the patient,” said Noom CEO Geoff Cook.
While few people pay Wegovy’s list price of about $1,349 a month in the U.S., Novo offers a direct-to-consumer cash price of $499 a month for all doses up to 2.4 mg. This month it promoted a first-fill price of $299 for some customers.
On a unit basis, Noom’s $199 for 0.6 mg is more expensive than the Novo program, although the Novo price stays the same at all doses so the unit cost rises at smaller doses.
Noom is continuing its program called GLP-1Rx that offers compounded versions of semaglutide at a maximum dose of 1.2 mg for $149 the first month and $279 afterward.
The company also offers Eli Lilly’s Zepbound for $349 from Lilly Direct and generic liraglutide, an older GLP-1 that is not as effective.
Online telehealth site Hims and Hers Health’s, Noom’s biggest rival, offers a one-year prepaid program for $199 a month for a “personalized” dose of compounded semaglutide.
Amid surging demand since 2022, a shortage of Zepbound and Wegovy prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow compounding pharmacies to sell copies, boosting Noom, Hims and LifeMD.
After the shortage ended by early this year, the FDA told compounding pharmacies to end mass sales. But companies have continued to compound semaglutide, saying it is legal for treating patient needs that are not met by branded versions.
Jeffrey Egler, Noom’s chief medical officer, said patients who want to address pre-diabetic high blood sugar or reap other benefits would also be candidates for the program.
“It’s more, ‘I want to reduce this chronic inflammation. I want to feel better today,'” said Cook, who said he has taken a low dose of semaglutide since October.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse; editing by Caroline Humer and Cynthia Osterman)
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