GLP-1 Med Prices: Bait & Switch?

Fit_Path

Fit_Path

Active member
Is it just me, or do these introductory prices for lower doses of GLP-1s feel like a trick? It's almost like they're trying to get new users hooked and then jack up the price once you need a higher dose. Doesn't sit right with me. Especially if the tablet form is cheaper to produce. Seems like pricing is still beyond reach for many.
 
What makes you say the markup is too high, Brave_Bison_420? Do you know their research costs, overhead, and taxes? What kind of profit should they be making? Or is this just based on what you see from overseas vendors that don't have the same expenses?
 
EL made over $22 billion in profit the last 3 years. That's *after* research, executive pay, and taxes.
 
Adding to Fit_Path's point, it's one thing to charge a lot for a drug for a rare disease to make back the costs. But with so many people who could benefit, if they're priced so high that people can't afford it and go without or use grey markets, then yeah, the margin is way too high. I'd be willing to pay like $300 a month, but almost $700? That's too much.
 
Drug companies usually make back the cost of a drug in the first year and then get 20 years of exclusivity. The pens probably cost more to make than the medicine itself. So, yeah, the markup is likely excessive. It all comes down to greed.
 
Insurance companies are the worst. They mess with the market so you never know the price of anything in advance. A market where you can't know the price of products isn't really a market.
 
Yeah, insurance companies are probably worse. Pharma companies are just trying to make money for their shareholders, which usually means making a ton of cash off of regular folks. At least they give us these amazing drugs and are innovating. Insurance companies, not so much.
 
This makes me so mad. With the injectable, like Ozempic, you're paying $350 a month for 2.5mg. With the highest dose of the new pill, it's like $300 for 25mg daily! The pills are way cheaper per mg. They're just trying to squeeze as much as they can!
 
It’s even worse when they fight each other, which is what's happening now.

Insurers are refusing coverage of overpriced peptides, trying to force better pricing from drug companies.

And drug companies are offering direct sales to customers (with a prescription) to bypass insurance companies.

I guess that means the drug companies are worse: they can directly keep prices high. They could theoretically bypass insurance on more products if they get it together.
 
Someone mentioned the pills having the same API as injectables but that sounds wrong. The highest pill dose (25mg) needs way more than the highest injection (2.4mg). The pills aren't absorbed as well, need a special coating (SNAC), and have specific instructions (empty stomach, small amount of water, wait 30 mins).
 
The fact that they priced the pills lower than the equivalent injectable dose is pretty telling. If pills were pricier to make, they wouldn't have done that. It's also been said that pills are easier to manufacture and store, and that's been mentioned on earning calls. I also don't think the amount of API has much to do with the total cost. Probably more goes into packaging and temperature control.
 
Insurance companies typically have a 5% profit margin, whereas pharmaceutical companies are closer to 15%. The problem of not knowing costs rests with the hospitals more than the insurers, IMO.
 
From EL's point, they're probably trying to make up for the earnings 'hurt' by Tirz taking market share from Ozempic so quickly (that's likely why Reta is being delayed). The pills are cheaper to make, easier to handle, and they can offer them at a lower price that looks good to uninformed customers, maximizing their profits.
 
That 5% insurance margin can vary, especially when they have their own PBMs and pharmacies, which all the big insurers do. They can shift profits around by forcing patients to use their pharmacies where prices are higher. The PBM side shows small profits, but most of the money is made on the pharmacy side. They also do spread pricing: charge employers $10 but pay the pharmacy $7. Since it's 'cost of goods sold,' the $3 fee isn't obvious. There are many ways they hide profits.
 
What gets me is that some execs are pulling in almost $30 million a year, including everything, while the people actually making these drugs are barely scraping by.
 
I figured salaries would be high, but seeing those numbers is tough. I have a good job, but I probably won't even make what they earn in a single year in my entire life. And now that Zepbound is making them so much profit, they're basically profiting off of people trying to lose weight. 🤣😂🤣😂
 
Yeah, it's rough seeing those salaries. They have to publish them every year since they're a public company. It's all in their Proxy if you want to dig deeper. I used to do all the SEC filings, so I know where to find all the bad stuff. 🤣🤣🤣
 
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