Americans are increasingly turning to drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy and Zepbound, also known as GLP-a drugs used for weight loss, so it's good news when manufacturers say they're lowering the price of the brand name version of the drug, now that about one out of every eight Americans are now taking the drugs or some versions of them.
"Something like them" would be one of the many compound drugs that are extremely similar to the brand name items but are actually cheaper, whether brand manufacturers such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk like it or not.
And actually, they don't like it, so the two companies have sued the telehealth supplier Hims and Hers, which is known to provide patients with discounted prescriptions for the compounded version of the weight loss drugs.
But one expert says there's a lot more to consider here than full price or compound-drug price or availability.
Compounded drugs are custom-ordered by doctors and others from pharmacies, which are then made with specific compounds especially for individual patients and they can be sold at less -- sometimes considerably less in cost -- than the brand name products.
"The goal moving forward has to be safe access, responsible oversight, and sustainable metabolic health, not just price competition alone, " says healthy living expert Paul Fulford.
He adds that when a therapy "transforms lives like this one and remains expensive or inconsistently covered [by insurance], patients will seek alternatives."
"But even with improved supply and price adjustments many patients still face high deductibles, limited insurance coverage or limited authorization barriers."
The drugs were originally released to the public as anti-diabetic medication but has since found enormous success as a way to lose weight and has had a profound effect on many lives in the United States.