Eli Lilly just halved the price of its weight-loss drug — declaring war on the booming market of knockoffs

• Eli Lilly is cutting the price of its popular weight-loss drug to compete with counterfeit versions.
• Zepbound will be sold for $399 to $549 a month, compared to a previous list price of $1,059.
• It's a move to retake the market after high demand and shortages prompted a spike in off-brand options.

One of the biggest weight-loss drugs on the market will now be available at half the cost, as its manufacturer hopes to reclaim the market from booming counterfeit sales.

The pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced Tuesday that Zepbound, its version of the drug tirzepatide designed specifically for weight loss, would be sold in single-dose bottles.

Tirzepatide is part of a class of medications called GLP-1s, which act on a hormone receptor that controls appetite. Research suggests it can lead to even more weight loss than similar GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic (which contain semaglutide) because tirzepatide works on two hunger-related hormones instead of just one. It was FDA-approved for weight loss in November 2023.

Previously, Zepbound was only sold in prefilled injector pens for a list price of $1,059 a month.

Patient advocates say the move could curb shortages since vials are cheaper and easier to get than pens.

The new single-dose vials will be available to customers who pay out of pocket and cost $399 to $549 for a month's supply, depending on the dose, though they do require patients to use a needle and syringe.

The move is intended to increase access to the wildly popular medication, Patrik Jonsson, Lilly's executive vice president, said.

"These new vials not only help us meet the high demand for our obesity medicine, but also broaden access for patients seeking a safe and effective treatment option," he said in a press release.

How copycats took over the weight-loss drug market

By offering a cheaper alternative, Lilly is pushing back against a massive market of counterfeit weight-loss drugs, many of which are illegal and potentially risky.

Versions of tirzepatide and semaglutide are sold online without a prescription through a legal loophole, but they can pose a serious risk of contamination or overdose, a researcher previously told Business Insider.

Another class of copycat drugs, known as compounded medications, requires a prescription and offers some quality control. But those drugs still aren't FDA-approved or regulated, so doctors say they can also be risky.

The latest move from Lilly aims to recapture consumers looking for cheaper options and hit counterfeiters with a one-two punch alongside its efforts to crack down on knockoff providers via lawsuits announced earlier this year.