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Novo Nordisk launches multi-month subscriptions for Wegovy obesity drugs as it tries to catch up with Eli Lilly
Wegovy semaglutide tablets.
Michael Siluk | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Novo Nordisk on Tuesday launched a multi-month subscription program for its Wegovy obesity drug products that aims to ensure cash-paying patients see lower, “predictable” monthly prices.
Eligible patients can choose between three-, six- or 12-month subscriptions for the Wegovy injection or the two highest doses of the newly launched pill under the same brand name. Longer plans offer lower monthly pricing, and the company expects people to save up to $1,200 a year on the injection and as much as $600 a year on the pill, relative to paying for their individual dose each month, according to a Novo release.
Patients can expect to pay flat monthly prices, even if they move to different doses, the company said. The subscription program will be available starting Tuesday on several of Novo’s telehealth partners, including Ro, WeightWatchers and LifeMD. Sesame, Hims & Hers and more are expected to be added soon.
The first-of-its-kind offering is “an opportunity to help patients not only start but stay on therapy and help them manage the ups and downs of some of the pricing considerations,” regardless if they are starting treatment or are currently taking the drug, said Ed Cinca, Novo’s head of marketing and patient solutions.
Inability to stay on GLP-1s is a longstanding issue due to factors such as difficulty accessing the drugs and gastrointestinal side effects, with one 2025 study estimating that around 65% of patients with obesity stop treatment within a year.
Wegovy subscription prices and estimated savings
Injection subscription plans (0.25, 0.5, 1.7 and 2.4 milligram doses)
- 3-month: $329 per month, savings of $240 per year
- 6-month: $299 per month, savings of $600 per year
- 12-month: $249 per month, savings of $1,200 per year
Pill subscription plans (9 and 25 milligram doses)
- 3-month: $289 per month, savings of $120 per year
- 6-month: $269 per month, savings of $360 per year
- 12-month: $249 per month, savings of $600 per year
The new program also comes as Novo’s pill, which has seen explosive uptake since its U.S. launch in January, is set to face fresh competition from an upcoming oral GLP-1 from chief rival Eli Lilly later this year. Lilly is currently the dominant player in the branded GLP-1 market in the U.S., with an estimated 60% share, while Novo has about 39%.
The Wegovy pill has largely been reaching people who didn’t previously take GLP-1 injections, making it crucial for Novo to capture as many new patients as it can before a competitor arrives.
As Novo Nordisk’s subscription plans launch, cash-paying patients can still pay $149 per month for the lower doses of the pill, which are 1.5 and 4 milligrams. But starting in September, the 4-milligram dose will cost $199 per month. Meanwhile, the recently approved 7.2-milligram dose of Wegovy will be added to the subscription program at a later date.
Cinca emphasized that patients can opt out of the subscription while it’s active if they no longer wish to enroll.
“We want to help patients identify a path that can help them feel comfortable about treating [obesity] in the long term,” he added.
Cinca said Novo is not yet offering the program on its NovoCare direct-to-consumer pharmacy, but added that there’s “an opportunity to evaluate how this goes and then build it out” through that platform over time.
MUMBAI: Some friction, long viewed as a flaw in digital payments, is now being seen as a feature. An RBI discussion paper proposes to introduce a short delay, or “lag”, for high-value transfers above Rs 10,000. This gives customers time to rethink a transaction and cancel it if they suspect fraud. Customers may also be allowed to whitelist trusted payees so that genuine payments are not delayed.Another proposal is to provide stronger protection to vulnerable users such as senior citizens by requiring an additional confirmation from a “trusted person” for large transactions above Rs 50,000. The paper also suggests a “kill switch” to instantly block all digital transactions in case of suspected fraud.Banks are expected to identify suspicious transactions in real time and seek reconfirmation from customers before processing them. They will need to build systems to implement delays, allow cancellations, and generate risk alerts. Banks are also expected to tighten due diligence by linking the level of activity in an account to the customer’s profile. For instance, accounts with low verified income may face limits on how much money they can receive unless additional checks are completed. A key finding is that most frauds now are the result of human vulnerability. The growth of digital payments has amplified this risk.
The project was part of a package of tech investment promising the UK could become an AI superpower.
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People gather at the Magic Kingdom theme park before the “Festival of Fantasy” parade at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, U.S. July 30, 2022.
Octavio Jones | Reuters
Disney is planning to begin its next phase of cost cutting, which will include as many as 1,000 layoffs, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The cost-cutting initiative comes shortly after Josh D’Amaro took the helm as CEO in mid-March.
The layoffs are expected to mostly affect Disney’s marketing department, according to the person, who requested to speak anonymously because the moves had not yet been made public. That department was recently consolidated under Asad Ayaz, who was named chief marketing and brand officer in January.
Ayaz, who reports directly to D’Amaro and Dana Walden, Disney’s president and chief creative officer, oversees marketing for all of Disney’s divisions — entertainment, experiences and sports — in the newly created role. It’s the first time that Disney brought all of its units under one marketing chief.
Disney’s stock was slightly down in afternoon trading on Thursday. The layoffs were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
The changes to the marketing department structure occurred in January, when Bob Iger was still CEO of the company. Disney announced shortly after that that D’Amaro would take take over the top job — a long-awaited decision for the company.
D’Amaro, who previously was chairman of Disney Experiences, succeeded Iger after a period of uncertainty for the media and theme park giant — which had included a succession race and recent reorganization and turnaround of the business.
Iger reclaimed the Disney CEO role in late 2022, about two years after his initial departure. He was immediately tasked with a turnaround of the business as its stock price had fallen and earnings began to miss expectations.
By February 2023, Disney had announced sweeping plans that reorganized the structure of the company, cut $5.5 billion in costs and eliminated 7,000 jobs from its workforce.
On D’Amaro’s first official day as CEO in March, he noted the work Iger had done to get the company past one of its most difficult periods.
“When Bob returned to the company a few years ago, his goal was to fortify our business and lay the groundwork for long-term growth, by reigniting creativity and improving performance at our studios, building a robust and profitable streaming business, transforming ESPN for a digital future, and turbocharging our parks and experiences,” D’Amaro said on stage at the company’s investor day.
“We’ve accomplished all of those things, and we’re operating from a place of strength, with ample opportunity for growth.”
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