Eli Lilly’s stock wobbled Thursday after a looming coverage hit was detailed for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound
ByTOM MURPHY AP health writer
Eli Lilly’s stock wobbled Thursday after a looming coverage hit was detailed for its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound.
CVS Health said the drugs Wegovy and Saxenda from rival drugmaker Novo Nordisk will become the preferred options on its standard formulary, or list of covered drugs, as of July 1. Zepbound will be excluded.
This could complicate access to a drug that many patients cannot afford to pay for on their own.
The formulary is maintained by CVS Health’s pharmacy benefits management business, which runs prescription drug coverage for millions of people. Employers and insurers — who pay most of the prescription bill — use the formulary to decide which drugs get coverage.
They can customize their coverage plans to include Zepbound. But CVS Health spokesman David Whitrap said most employers wind up using the standard formulary because of the discounts negotiated for them.
Patients taking Zepbound will be able to switch to Wegovy if the Lilly drug is excluded from their coverage, Whitrap said.
CVS Health also said Thursday that it will start selling Wegovy at a discounted price of about $500 monthly at thousands of drugstores for people without coverage. Novo had announced its n