Online pharmacies and slimming clinics are cutting prices for Wegovy and Mounjaro in Britain just months after the weight-loss drugs were launched there, as initial supply shortages ease.
But growing competition between retailers has raised fears that some patients who buy the drugs themselves, rather than relying on the National Health Service (NHS), will miss out on long-term aftercare if they keep switching providers.
Self-paying patients already account for a big chunk of revenues from Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and rival Mounjaro, made by Eli Lilly. And with analysts estimating the new generation of weight-loss therapies could soon be worth $100 billion globally per year, they are increasingly being wooed by drug retailers.
Simple Online Pharmacy in February cut the price of starter doses of Mounjaro to 159 pounds for a one-month supply from 179 pounds. It reduced that price further to 149 pounds, and also marked down the higher Mounjaro strengths that patients take later.
The retailer, which offers online access to doctors who can prescribe privately, said demand for the new obesity drugs was unprecedented and still growing, but that Mounjaro’s launch had “significantly alleviated” pressure on supply chains.
A survey by the company of more than 500 users of Wegovy or Mounjaro showed that a third had tried to access the medication via the state-funded NHS but found it was either too difficult or took too long. Mayfair Weight Loss Clinic and London Slimming Clinic, which also provide online prescription and pharmacy services, have cut prices too of either Mounjaro or Wegovy in recent months.
