A pharmacist displays a box of Wegovy pills at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, Jan. 15, 2026.

George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Shares of Novo Nordisk rose more than 8% on Friday after early prescription data showed an encouraging start to the U.S. launch of the company’s new GLP-1 pill for obesity.

In a Friday note, TD Cowen analysts called it a “solid start” for the first-ever weight loss pill, but said “one data point does not make a trend.” They cautioned that they need to see more data to fully assess early demand for the Wegovy pill, which officially launched Jan. 5 after winning approval in late December. 

Still, the initial data is a boost to the Danish drugmaker’s hopes of winning back more share from its chief rival, Eli Lilly, this year in the booming obesity and diabetes drug market. Eli Lilly won the majority market share in early 2025 and is trailing closely behind Novo Nordisk in the pill space, as it prepares for the upcoming launch of its own oral drug for obesity.

In a Friday note, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger said around 3,100 prescriptions for the Wegovy pill were filled in the first week of the launch, citing IQVIA data for the week ending Jan. 9. In the first week of the commercial launch of Eli Lilly’s popular obesity injection, Zepbound, around 1,300 prescriptions were filled, and roughly 8,000 were filled in the second week, he noted. That injection won U.S. approval in late 2023. 

The TD Cowen analysts cited somewhat different data published by Symphony through Bloomberg.

The analysts said around 4,290 prescriptions were filled for Novo Nordisk’s pill during its first full week of launch, with the majority being for the starting dose of the drug. They added that the data from their source or IQVIA likely don’t include prescriptions through Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer pharmacy or its telehealth partners. 

The analysts said that compares with the roughly 1,900 prescriptions filled for Zepbound during its first full week on the market.

Assuming the Symphony data is accurate, the pill “is already outstripping its injectable counterparts at the same stage of their launch,” TD Cowen analyst Michael Nedelcovych wrote in the note. A more direct comparison between the pill and the injections can be made based on available data early next week, though the figures may not prove more useful for another two to three quarters, he added. 

Nedelcovych said he wants to see the full picture on the direct-to-consumer channel, which holds “significant promise” for the pill’s launch. 

Demand could also shift once Eli Lilly’s pill, orforglipron, enters the market in the next few months, he added.

While Novo Nordisk’s drug has a head start, it is a peptide medication with dietary requirements — no food or drink for 30 minutes after taking the pill with water — that may hinder uptake. Eli Lilly’s pill is a small-molecule drug and not a peptide, meaning it does not have those restrictions. 

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The logo of pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is displayed in front of its offices in Bagsvaerd, on the outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark, Nov. 24, 2025.

Tom Little | Reuters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved the first-ever GLP-1 pill for obesity from Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk, a landmark decision that health experts say could open up treatment access to more patients.

Novo Nordisk said it expects to launch the pill in early 2026. The Danish drugmaker said starting in early January, the starting dose of 1.5 milligrams will be available in pharmacies and via select telehealth providers with savings offers for $149 per month.

That’s the same price that cash-paying patients can access the starting dose of the pill on President Donald Trump’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx, under a deal Novo Nordisk struck with his administration last month. Trump’s site also launches in January.

Novo Nordisk did not say how much higher doses of the drug would cost, but said additional information on coverage and savings options for eligible patients will be available at that time as well.

Shares of Novo Nordisk gained roughly 10% in extended trading Monday.

The FDA’s approval also clears the pill for use to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events, such as death, heart attack or stroke, in adults with obesity and established cardiovascular disease, according to Novo Nordisk.

That’s consistent with the approval label of the company’s blockbuster weight loss drug Wegovy, which shares the same active ingredient, semaglutide. Both work by mimicking the gut hormone GLP-1 to suppress appetite.

“What we’ve learned through years of research is that having an oral option really kind of opens up, activates and motivates different segments to seek treatment,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk’s executive vice president of U.S. operations, told CNBC ahead of the approval. “To have that conversation with their doctor to see if this is something that might be right for them.”

“That’s what we’re excited about — to be able to give people an option and make sure we have access and ease of access like we have been doing with our injections,” he continued. He added that patients will have the “comfort and familiarity” on the safety and efficacy side since the pill contains the same active ingredient as Wegovy.

Some health experts said pills could reach people who are afraid of needles or patients who might benefit from the existing injections but don’t take them because they don’t view their need as severe enough. 

It’s unclear exactly how many people are using GLP-1s in the U.S., especially for obesity in particular. But around 1 in 8 adults said they were taking a GLP-1 drug to lose weight or treat another chronic condition as of November, according to a poll from health policy research organization KFF.

The approval gives Novo Nordisk a head start over its chief rival Eli Lilly, which is currently the dominant player in the market and is racing to launch its own obesity pill. Pills are the next battleground for the two drugmakers, which established the booming GLP-1 space that some analysts say could be worth roughly $100 billion by the 2030s.

Wall Street thinks there’s plenty of room for pills in the market, with Goldman Sachs analyst saying in August that pills could capture a 24% share — or around $22 billion — of the 2030 global weight loss drug market.

In a note Monday, BMO Capital Markets analyst Evan Seigerman said the approval of Novo Nordisk’s pill gives the company a “much-needed win in light of recent challenges maintaining incretin market share dominance.”

Incretins refer to treatments that mimic gut hormones such as GLP-1. Eli Lilly earlier this year gained the majority share of the market thanks to its blockbuster obesity injection Zepbound, which has shown to be more effective than Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.

“Novo will likely benefit from first-mover advantage, capturing patients with a preference for convenience and comfort provided by an oral dosing regimen,” Seigerman said. But he also noted that the market is “rapidly evolving with competitive assets in development” and an approval for Eli Lilly’s pill, orforglipron, “just around the corner.”

What to know about the Wegovy pill

The approval is based on a phase three trial that followed more than 300 adults with obesity but not diabetes.

In that study, a 25-milligram dose of Novo Nordisk’s oral semaglutide helped patients lose up to 16.6% of their weight on average after 64 weeks, according to results from the trial presented at a medical conference in 2024. That weight loss was 13.6% when the company analyzed all patients regardless of whether they stopped the drug.

The pill appears to be slightly more effective than an experimental oral drug from Eli Lilly, which is still waiting for FDA approval.

But unlike Novo Nordisk’s pill, Eli Lilly’s treatment is not a peptide medication. That means it is absorbed more easily by the body and does not require dietary restrictions. People who take Novo Nordisk’s pill have to wait 30 minutes before eating or drinking each day.

But Moore said several existing medicines have the same dietary requirements, so “we don’t see it as something that impacts adherence to treatment.” He noted that Novo Nordisk’s research has found that it helps patients to remember to take their medicine in the morning with a few sips of water.

“It’s actually a reinforcement factor for patients,” Moore said.

He added that the prices of the pill get costs closer to what some people are paying for unapproved, compounded versions of branded GLP-1s, some of which are still being illegally mass-marketed and sold in the U.S.

Patients flocked to the cheaper copycats when Ozempic and Wegovy were in short supply over the last two years due to skyrocketing demand, or if they didn’t have insurance coverage for the costly treatments. During FDA-declared shortages, pharmacists can legally make compounded versions of brand-name medications. But the agency earlier this year determined that the shortage of semaglutide is over, barring the practice in many cases.

“It continues to be alarming and disturbing for us,” Moore told CNBC, referring to illegitimate ingredients that are imported into the U.S. illegally and used by some compounding pharmacies to create copycat versions of branded GLP-1s.

In terms of manufacturing, Moore said the company is “prepared to be able to satisfy a big demand here in the U.S., and we’re pretty excited about it.” Novo Nordisk said manufacturing is underway at its North Carolina facilities.

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US President Donald Trump makes an announcement in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on Nov. 6, 2025.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

President Donald Trump on Thursday struck landmark deals with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk that could mark a turning point in how many people can access their costly blockbuster obesity drugs. 

Under the agreements, Medicare will start covering GLP-1s for obesity for certain patients for the first time beginning in mid-2026 – a shift that will open access to millions of older adults and could spur more employers and other private insurers to follow suit, some experts said. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are also lowering the prices that all state Medicaid programs will pay for GLP-1s, but it’s up to states to opt into coverage. 

Obesity drug coverage among state Medicaid plans, employers and other private insurers remains spotty due to the $1,000 or more monthly list prices of existing GLP-1s, including Eli Lilly’s obesity injection Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s competitor Wegovy. 

The limited insurance coverage has blocked out patients who can’t afford their hefty price tags. That lack of access has led to mounting pressure on health plans and the government to expand coverage — and the government agreements with drugmakers could mark a major shift.

“I think it’ll start with the government, start with Medicare, and the insurers will quickly follow,” Nick Fabrizio, an associate teaching professor in Cornell’s health policy program, told CNBC. “I do think that’s coming.”

“This is a great step towards trying to address a chronic and serious issue, and for those patients who may feel like they have no hope,” he said.

Roughly 8 to 9 million people in the U.S. are using GLP-1s, Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said at a briefing with reporters on Thursday. The added Medicare coverage under the deal could bring in as many as 40 million new eligible patients, and prompt more commercial plans to cover the medicines, he said.

The deals could also address the inability of many patients with limited or no insurance coverage for obesity drugs to access them, by offering the treatments at a discount on the Trump administration’s direct-to-consumer website, TrumpRx.gov. 

The monthly out-of-pocket cost of existing injections and upcoming pills could range from $50 to $350 starting next year, depending on the dosage and insurance coverage a patient has. 

Still, there is a law prohibiting Medicare from covering weight loss drugs, so any changes would have to come from Congress. Eli Lilly’s Ricks told reporters Thursday that for now, the government will launch an initial pilot program in the spring of 2026 under a temporary legal mechanism. It would be voluntary for Medicare prescription drug plans, so “it may be possible that a few plans do not participate, but I would expect almost all do,” he said. 

But Ricks said that it will transition into a formal so-called Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation pilot program in 2027, which means it will be mandatory for all Medicare Part D plans.

“So we expect broad coverage in all plans both in 2026 and beyond,” he said.

Medicare coverage could be a sea change

Likely the most notable feature of the deals is Medicare coverage of obesity drugs, as it will allow the treatments to reach new patients in the program and could lead to broader private insurance coverage. 

Under the deals, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk agreed to cut the price Medicare and Medicaid pay for GLP-1s to $245 per month. In Medicare specifically, certain patients will pay a copay of $50 per month for all approved uses of injectable and oral GLP-1 drugs, including diabetes and obesity treatment.

But the Trump administration is putting some constraints on which Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible to receive GLP-1s for obesity and cardiovascular and metabolic benefits. People who qualify include patients with a body mass index of 27 or above with prediabetes or established cardiovascular disease; people with a BMI of 30 or more with related health conditions; or those with severe obesity, or a BMI of 35 and above. 

GLP-1s for weight loss are approved for a broader population: people who have obesity or are overweight with one related condition. In a note Thursday, Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger also said it’s unclear whether the government will allow patients to stay on a GLP-1 for obesity after their BMI levels drop. 

Even with those restrictions, “I think in practice, it’s still going to cover a fair number of people,” said Darius Lakdawalla, chief scientific officer at the University of Southern California’s Schaeffer Center.

JPMorgan analyst Chris Schott said the eligibility criteria mean 80% of the obese population in Medicare could receive coverage for GLP-1s, despite the limits.

“Today’s deal will open up meaningful access to obesity drugs,” Schott said in a note about Eli Lilly on Thursday. 

Lakdawalla added that while there isn’t clear evidence that private insurers will expand coverage on the heels of government plans, “it’s just optically harder for them to continue to constrain coverage when Medicare and Medicaid are covering them.” 

“That’s going to exert some pressure for commercial coverage of these drugs to expand as well,” Lakdawalla said. 

Coverage for GLP-1s for obesity has ticked up slightly, but remains sparse: A May survey of more than 300 companies by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans found that 36% provided coverage for GLP-1s for both weight loss and diabetes, up from 34% in 2024. 

Medicaid, direct-to-consumer offerings could fill gaps

Lakdawalla said the direct-to-consumer offerings under the deal could be useful for people who are underinsured, uninsured or may not have coverage for obesity medicines. Still, it’s unclear how many more patients the drugs will reach due to the offerings. 

Both Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have introduced lower cost options for their drugs for people paying in cash and purchasing the drugs directly through their websites. But the deals with Trump will give those patients even bigger discounts.

On TrumpRx, the average monthly cost for Wegovy, Zepbound and other injectable GLP-1s will start at $350 and drop to $250 within the next two years, according to senior Trump administration officials. Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk both offered some GLP-1s on their direct-to-consumer platforms for up to $450 to $500 per month.

Starting doses of obesity pills from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk — expected to hit the market next year — will be $149 per month on TrumpRx, Medicare and Medicaid.  

Eli Lilly on Thursday said it would lower prices by $50 on its own direct-to-consumer platform, LillyDirect, which already offers Zepbound and other drugs at a discount to cash-paying patients. The multidose pen of Zepbound will be available for $299 per month at the lowest dose, with additional doses being priced up to $449 per month.

In terms of Medicaid, Cornell’s Fabrizio said states will likely want to start covering obesity drugs at the lower price point, “but the question is how will they pay for it?”

Around a dozen state Medicaid programs cover obesity drugs, according to 2024 estimates from KFF, a health policy research organization. While GLP-1s offer substantial health benefits to Medicaid beneficiaries, state programs are already facing constrained budgets and administrative demands.

Fabrizio added that raising taxes to cover the drugs “could be a sticky issue.”

Still, JPMorgan’s Schott said offering lower prices to Medicaid programs could lead to a “significant increase in coverage” in that channel, where Zepbound has very limited uptake. 

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The “Wegovy” brand slimming syringe is sold in the Achat pharmacy in Mitte. The “Wegovy” slimming syringe has been available in Germany for a year.

Jens Kalaene | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Novo Nordisk on Monday said it is ending its collaboration with Hims & Hers due to concerns about the telehealth company’s sales and promotion of cheaper knock-offs of the weight loss drug Wegovy. 

Shares of Hims & Hers fell about 20% in premarket trading Monday. 

Novo Nordisk in April said it would offer Wegovy through several telehealth companies such as Hims & Hers to expand access to the blockbuster injection now that it is no longer in short supply in the U.S. 

The end of the Wegovy shortage meant compounding pharmacies were legally restricted from making and selling cheaper, unapproved versions of Wegovy – with rare exceptions. Telehealth companies have said patients may still need personalized compounded versions of Wegovy due to medically necessary reasons, such as having allergies to certain ingredients in the branded product. 

But Novo Nordisk on Monday said Hims & Hers has “failed to adhere to the law which prohibits mass sales of compounded drugs” under the “false guise” of personalization. The drugmaker also accused Hims & Hers of “deceptive” marketing that is putting patient safety at risk.

A Hims & Hers spokesperson did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request to comment.

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Wegovy injection pens arranged in Waterbury, Vermont, US, on Monday, April 28, 2025.

Shelby Knowles | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Only half of health insurer Cigna‘s clients currently cover the popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs Wegovy and Zepbound because of their high costs. But the company’s pharmacy benefits unit Evernorth has reached a deal with drug makers Ely Lilly and Novo Nordisk which it said will bring prices down for employers and their workers.

“This solution is really focused towards clients that aren’t covering it today, and what it allows us to do is one, to bring it on at a reduced price for the plan sponsor, but also capping out the members’ cost at $200,” per month said Harold Carter, Evernorth senior vice president of pharmacy relations.

Many of Evernorth’s clients currently offer the drugs to workers with co-pays as low as $25 per month. For those who have been hesitant to cover the medications because of cost, capping employee out-of-pocket costs at $200 would amount to less than half the price consumers pay in cash without insurance if they bought the drug through Ely Lilly or Novo Nordisk’s direct-to-consumer websites.   

The new deal will also include a simplified pre-authorization process for the drugs, and patients will be able to access the drugs for the same price across retail pharmacies, or through Evernorth home delivery service, the company said.

Those new services and discounts will also be provided for Evernorth clients already offering the weight loss drugs.

“Clients that cover weight loss today, we’re expecting that they can see, you know, up to almost 20% a reduction [in] their costs … with this updated arrangement that we’ve been able to get with Lily and Novo, ” said Carter, adding that Evernorth was able to get better pricing while maintaining coverage for both drugs.

Last month, CVS Caremark announced that it had struck a deal to make Novo’s Wegovy its primary weight loss drug starting in the second half of the year, which would mean coverage for Lilly’s Zepbound would no longer be preferred.

Novo Nordisk would not comment on the new pharmacy benefits arrangements. But a spokesperson for Eli Lilly told CNBC, “Lilly will continue to work with those in health care, government and the industry to find creative solutions that help people with obesity access Zepbound.”

Net prices coming down

While Cigna would not discuss the actual discounts reached under the new Evernorth arrangement, analysts say large employers and other insurers have gotten between 30% to 50% below the drugs’ list price.

While Novo’s Wegovy lists for $1,350 per month, in March the average net price for the drug was $616 according to an analysis by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. For Lilly’s Zepbound, the list price is roughly $1,100 per month, while the net price is $725.

These new arrangements by Evernorth and CVS Caremark could bring those net prices even lower for employers, just as the government is negotiating Medicare discounts for Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy under the Inflation Reduction Act.

Those Medicare negotiated rates will take effect in 2027 — effectively making Novo Nordisk’s products the preferred drugs in the program. That could see prices come down even further, said Ben Ippolito, senior fellow in health economics at the American Enterprise Institute.

“Once the drug is negotiated, it must be featured on formulary in Medicare. And so that means that if you’re Eli Lilly, you have to try and compete in the Medicare market with a product that’s going to be on formulary and have an artificially lower price. And so it’s going to filter through to what Eli Lilly does,” Ippolito said.

Evernorth’s new weight loss pricing program will begin in the second half of the year, as employers begin to make decisions about coverage for next year’s plans.

— CNBC’s Angelica Peebles contributed to this report.

Correction: The pricing program will begin in the second half of the year. A previous version of this story misstated the timeline.

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The “Wegovy” brand slimming syringe is sold in the Achat pharmacy in Mitte. The “Wegovy” slimming syringe has been available in Germany for a year.

Jens Kalaene | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Novo Nordisk on Tuesday said it will offer its weight loss drug Wegovy through telehealth providers Hims & Hers Health, Ro and LifeMD to expand access to the blockbuster treatment now that it is no longer in short supply in the U.S. 

Shares of Hims & Hers soared 18% on Tuesday, while Novo Nordisk’s stock rose 3%.

The Danish drugmaker is racing to capture more patients now that many compounding pharmacies are legally restricted from making cheaper, unapproved versions of Wegovy, with rare exceptions. Patients flocked to those compounded versions while Wegovy was in shortage due to skyrocketing demand. 

“We felt it was really important to work hard to establish a collaboration with telehealth companies so that there could be access to Wegovy as the compounding is winding down,” Dave Moore, executive vice president of U.S. operations at Novo Nordisk, told CNBC. 

“We’re really pleased about the level of interest to access branded Wegovy and to start to sort of catch people as they come off of compounded medicine,” he said. 

More CNBC health coverage

Moore added that the new partnerships make the experience “seamless” for patients since it allows them to access Wegovy straight from their telehealth providers, which “makes it very easy” for them to get the drug shipped directly to their homes. 

Patients will be able to access Novo Nordisk’s new direct-to-consumer online pharmacy, NovoCare, directly through the telehealth providers. 

That pharmacy offers Wegovy for $499 in cash per month – roughly half its usual monthly list price  – for patients without insurance coverage for the weekly injection. 

Each telehealth company’s price may be higher because they likely include additional services, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson told CNBC. 

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Novo Nordisk one year stock chart

Hims & Hers said it will begin offering all dose sizes of Wegovy along with access to 24/7 care, nutritional guidance and ongoing clinical support this week, starting at $599 per month to eligible cash-paying patients with a prescription. 

The medication will cost Hims & Hers customers more since it comes with added access to care, the company’s CEO, Andrew Dudum, told CNBC in an interview. He said he thinks the company’s partnership with Novo Nordisk will serve as a case study for how patients get access to and get prices for “great medicine” and other forms of treatment. 

Ro opted for the lower price, announcing Tuesday it will offer access to all doses of Wegovy for $499 per month. The company provides 24/7 messaging, one-on-one coaching, educational content and more through its monthly membership called the Body Program, which does not include the cost of medication.

“Adding Novo Nordisk’s FDA-approved treatments at the best available cash price will help more patients nationwide get the obesity care they need to achieve their goals, particularly those without insurance coverage,” Ro CEO Zach Reitano said in a release.

Earlier this month, Hims & Hers announced that patients could access Eli Lilly’s weight loss medication Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro, as well as the generic injection liraglutide, through its platform. But unlike the company’s collaboration with Novo Nordisk, Lilly released a statement clarifying that it has “no affiliation” with Hims & Hers.

Hims & Hers started prescribing compounded semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drug Ozempic and Wegovy, in May of 2024. The company has largely had to stop offering the compounded medications en masse, but some consumers may still be able to access personalized doses if it’s clinically applicable, Dudum said. 

“That was one of the first things we shared with Novo is that we will always fight on behalf of what consumers we believe have the right to get,” Dudum said. “The regulation is very clear.” 

During Food and Drug Administration-declared shortages, pharmacists can legally make compounded versions of brand-name medications. They can also be produced on a case-by-case basis when it’s medically necessary for a patient, such as when they can’t swallow a pill or are allergic to a specific ingredient in a branded drug. 

But drugmakers and some health experts have pushed back against the practice, largely because the FDA does not approve compounded drugs. 

Larger, federally regulated compounding pharmacies that make copies of semaglutide in bulk without prescriptions face a legal deadline of May 22 to stop marketing and selling those versions. Smaller, state-licensed compounding pharmacies that manufacture semaglutide copycats for individual prescriptions had a deadline of April 22.  

“The spirit of this is that we stay true to what the rules are,” Moore said. “That’s the best way for us to serve patients.”

— CNBC’s Brandon Gomez and Angelica Peebles contributed to this report.

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