The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declared an end to shortages of the GLP-1 drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound, a move that means online pharmacies will have to stop selling compounded versions of these medicines.
Tirzepatide, the active ingredient in both Mounjaro for type 2 diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss, was in short supply for more than two years. But the drugmaker Eli Lilly is “currently meeting or exceeding demand” for all doses of these medicines and should continue to do so going forward, the FDA said in a December 19 statement.
The End of Compounded Tirzepatide?
With supply issues resolved, so-called compounding pharmacies that have been legally selling copycat versions of these medicines during the shortage will have to stop doing so within the next two to three months, the FDA said.
While some patients with insurance coverage for Mounjaro and Zepbound may now find it easier to get prescriptions filled at their regular pharmacies, people who have been paying out-of-pocket for copycat versions may now have a harder time accessing or affording treatment, says Melanie Jay, MD, a professor and a codirector of the obesity research program at the New York University Grossman School of Medicine in New York City.
“A lot of people who have been going to compounding pharmacies probably don’t have insurance coverage for tirzepatide, and now they’re not going to be able to afford it,” Dr. Jay says.
Without insurance, prefilled injection pens with Zepbound and Mounjaro cost about $1,000 a month. Copycats have been selling for much less. For example, Hims & Hers offered compounded tirzepatide starting at $199 a month and Ro has sold a compounded version of Zepbound starting at $399 a month.
In August Eli Lilly began selling vials of tirzepatide on its direct-to-consumer site LillyDirect, starting at $399 a month — a significant discount compared with the cost for prefilled injection pens.
Some patients may switch to copycats of another GLP-1 drug, semaglutide, the main ingredient in the type 2 diabetes drug Ozempic and the weight loss drug Wegovy. Semaglutide remains on the FDA’s shortage list, and compounded versions of these drugs are permitted as long as this is the case.
What to Do if You Can No Longer Afford Tirzepatide
Patients taking copycat versions of Zepbound and Mounjaro should reach out to their doctor to discuss what option they can switch to, says Jay. Some people might get prescriptions for the brand name versions of these drugs, and others might need to consider other types of medication, Jay says.
Their options may depend on what their insurance plan will cover, and what they can afford to pay out-of-pocket for medicines that are excluded by their health plan, Jay says. While GLP-1 drugs are often covered for type 2 diabetes, this is often not the case for weight loss, Jay notes.
“If you can’t get it covered for obesity or can’t afford it, there are some less expensive options that may be less effective, but they'll at least help you maintain your weight loss,” Jay says. “The best thing you can do is work with a doctor who has a lot of experience in obesity medicine.”
Emily Kay Votruba has copyedited and fact-checked for national magazines, websites, and books since 1997, including Self, GQ, Gourmet, Golf Magazine,Outside, Cornell University Press, Penguin Random House, and Harper's Magazine. Her projects have included cookbooks (Padma Lakshmi's Tangy Tart Hot & Sweet), self-help and advice titles (Mika Brzezinski's Know Your Value: Women, Money, and Getting What You're Worth), memoirs (Larry King's My Remarkable Journey), and science (Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Learn, by Cathy Davidson). She started freelancing for Everyday Health in 2016.
Lisa Rapaport is a journalist with more than 20 years of experience on the health beat as a writer and editor. She holds a master’s degree from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and spent a year as a Knight-Wallace journalism fellow at the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in dozens of local and national media outlets, including Reuters, Bloomberg, WNYC, The Washington Post,Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune, Huffington Post, Yahoo! News, The Sacramento Bee, and The Buffalo News.
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Declaratory Order: Resolution of Shortages of Tirzepatide Injection Products (Mounjaro and Zepbound). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. December 19, 2024.
How Much Should I Expect to Pay for Zepbound® (Tirzepatide)? Lilly.
How Much Should I Expect to Pay for Mounjaro® (Tirzepatide)? Lilly.
Hims & Hers Announces Access to GLP-1 Injections, Passing Cost Savings Onto Customers. Hims & Hers. May 20, 2024.
Willson A. Zepbound vs. Mounjaro: What Is the Difference? Ro. October 8, 2024.
