Trump Announces Deals With Lilly, Novo to Cut Weight Loss Drug Prices

The White House today announced landmark drug pricing agreements with Eli Lilly and Company and Novo Nordisk to lower the costs of the nation’s 2 highest-expenditure drugs, both glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists used for diabetes, heart disease, and obesity management, among other conditions.1

The new agreeement establishes reduced pricing for weight loss medications under Medicare and Medicaid or purchased directly through TrumpRX. | Image credit: Fernanda - stock.adobe.com

The announcement advances President Donald Trump’s Most Favored Nation (MFN) executive order, which aims to address the disparity in drug pricing in the US vs other wealthy nations.2 Pfizer and AstraZeneca also recently struck deals with the administration, both of which were voluntary agreements complying with the MFN order.2,3

"In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism abroad with skyrocketing prices at home," Trump said in a statement.1 "So we would spend tremendous amounts of money in order to provide inexpensive drugs to another country. And when I say the price is different, you can see some examples where the price is beyond anything—four times, five times different."

The details of the deals were shared in a fact sheet from the White House.1

Per the administration's announcement, Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide agents (Ozempic and Wegovy) will see their monthly prices reduced from approximately $1000 and $1350, respectively, to $350 when purchased through TrumpRx, a new government website set to launch in 2026 that will allow Americans to purchase medicine directly from pharmaceutical companies at substantial discounts.1,3

Medicare Part D and Medicaid will also cover Wegovy and Ozempic through a pilot program designed to encompass the majority of Part D beneficiaries, according to a press release from Novo Nordisk.4 The company is also expected to receive a 3-year exemption from tariffs, which Trump has threatened to place on imported branded and patented drugs unless companies invest in US manufacturing.4,5

"Novo Nordisk has always worked to secure affordable access to our innovative medicines, and today’s announcement will bring semaglutide medicines to more American patients at a lower cost," Mike Doustdar, president and CEO of Novo Nordisk, said in a statement.4 "Importantly, this also expands obesity medication access in Medicare, which will allow people living with obesity to access authentic Wegovy."

Eli Lilly’s high-profile obesity treatment tirzepatide (Zepbound) and its potential oral GLP-1 counterpart, orforglipron, if approved, will see monthly prices drop from more than $1080 to an average of $346 when purchased through TrumpRx.1 The initial dose of any future FDA-approved oral GLP-1 drugs will be priced at $150 per month from either manufacturer on TrumpRX.

Self-pay patients will also be able to access the Zepbound multi-dose pen, if FDA approved, at $299 for the lowest dose and up to $449 for the highest dose—a $50 discount on current direct-to-patient prices—through the LillyDirect self-pay pharmacy channel, according to a press release from Eli Lilly.6 Multi-dose pen refills will cost patients no more than $449 through LillyDirect. The lowest dose of orforglipron, if approved, will be available at $149 for the lowest dose and up to $399 for additional doses.

"Today marks a pivotal moment in U.S. health care policy and a defining milestone for Lilly, made possible through collaboration with the Trump Administration," David A. Ricks, Lilly chair and CEO, said in a statement.6 "As we expand access to obesity treatments for more Americans and advance one of the most innovative obesity pipelines, we remain focused on improving outcomes, strengthening the US healthcare system, and contributing to the health of our nation for generations to come. This agreement adds to our established commitment to affordability—from being the first company to cap insulin prices at $35 to launching LillyDirect, the end-to-end digital healthcare experience."

Under the new agreement, Medicare and state Medicaid program prices of Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, and Mounjaro (tirzepatide for diabetes) will be $245, according to the White House.1 Additionally, Medicare will cover Wegovy and Zepbound for patients with obesity and related comorbidities for the first time. Medicare beneficiaries will pay a co-pay of $50 per month.

The agreement extends beyond GLP-1s, with Novo Nordisk committing to providing its widely used insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, at a maximum of $35 per month of supply, according to the White House.1 And Eli Lilly has agreed to discounts on treatments like migraine medication galcanezumab (Emgality) and diabetes medication dulaglutide (Trulicity), bringing them to $299 and $389 per month, respectively.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk also guaranteed MFN pricing on all new medications brought to market and agreed to provide every state Medicaid program access to MFN prices on their products under the new agreement, according to the White House.

Notably, semaglutide had already been announced back on January 17, 2025, as being part of the second round of drugs included in Medicare price negotiations under the Inflation Reduction Act.7

References

1. Fact sheet: President Donald J. Trump announces major developments in bringing most-favored-nation pricing to American patients. WhiteHouse.gov. November 6, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/11/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-major-developments-in-bringing-most-favored-nation-pricing-to-american-patients/

2. Mattina C. White House to announce second drug pricing deal as AstraZeneca joins TrumpRx. AJMC®. October 10, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/white-house-to-announce-second-drug-pricing-deal-as-astrazeneca-joins-trumprx

3. Joszt L. White House, Pfizer reach agreement on drug discounts; Trump announces TrumpRx. AJMC. September 30, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/white-house-pfizer-reach-agreement-on-drug-discounts-trump-announces-trumprx

4. Novo Nordisk announces agreement with the U.S. Administration to bring GLP-1s to more Americans at a lower cost. News release. Novo Nordisk. November 6, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.novonordisk.com/content/nncorp/global/en/news-and-media/news-and-ir-materials/news-details.html?id=916450

5. Global drugmakers rush to boost US presence as tariff threat looms. Reuters. October 20, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/global-drugmakers-rush-boost-us-presence-tariff-threat-looms-2025-09-26/

6. Lilly and U.S. government agree to expand access to obesity medicines to millions of Americans. News release. Eli Lilly and Company. November 6, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lilly-and-us-government-agree-expand-access-obesity-medicines

7. Bonavitacola, J. Next round of Medicare drug price negotiations to include semaglutide. AJMC. January 17, 2025. Accessed November 6, 2025. https://www.ajmc.com/view/next-round-of-medicare-drug-price-negotiations-to-include-semaglutide