Novo Nordisk last week (March 5) announced the launch of NovoCare Pharmacy – “a direct-to-patient delivery option” for US patients prescribed weight loss drug Wegovy.
The drugmaker said that the online pharmacy “offers cash-paying patients all dose strengths of Wegovy at a reduced cost of $499 per month”.
Read more: New weight loss regs: Almost 50 concerns already raised with GPhC
The figure represents a price slash of $850 for the highest dose strength of the drug, which is currently listed at $1,349.02 per package on the drug manufacturer’s website.
Novo Nordisk this week (March 11) told C+D that the online pharmacy is currently only serving US patients, adding that it has no plans to expand services to the UK at present.
“Lower price”
In addition to “lowering [the] cost of all doses”, NovoCare offers patients “the ability to schedule shipments of their Wegovy prescriptions directly to their home” though company CenterWell Pharmacy, Novo Nordisk said.
“NovoCare also supports patients with benefit verification, refill reminders and access to live support from a NovoCare case manager,” it added.
“Amid the dangers of fake or illegitimate compounded ‘semaglutide’, NovoCare Pharmacy offers reliable access to authentic, FDA-approved Wegovy in our once-weekly single-dose pen,” the company said.
Read more: Boots to ‘review processes’ after caught dispensing Wegovy to teen
“This announcement follows the recent [federal] decision that the shortage of this medicine is resolved, with all dose strengths of Wegovy meeting or exceeding both current and projected US demand,” it added.
“In the near future, the overall savings offer for Wegovy will be updated so that cash-paying patients who use traditional retail pharmacies will also benefit from this lower price,” it said.
Wegovy latest
Meanwhile, a new Channel 4 Dispatches documentary last week revealed footage of a 16-year-old receiving weight loss jab Wegovy from Boots on two separate occasions by falsely stating she was 18.
Health secretary Wes Streeting deemed Boots weight loss safeguards “totally unacceptable”, while Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) policy head Alima Batchelor deemed the incidents “a systemic failure”.
Read more: GPhC: Photo verification for weight loss drugs ‘not appropriate’
Last month, the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) announced that online pharmacies “cannot” prescribe based on online questionnaires alone and must “independently verify” patients’ weight and height before prescribing weight loss drugs.
The updated guidance comes after C+D exclusively reported in June that a “young girl” was rushed to A&E after presenting with life threatening symptoms after taking weight loss drug Wegovy that she had obtained through Boots Online Doctor.
C+D this week revealed that in the first month of its updated guidance, the pharmacy regulator has already referred three individuals for fitness-to-practise (FtP) investigations for concerns around weight management drugs, with almost 50 concerns already raised.
