Costco now offers GLP-1s, but that won’t have a major market shift, experts say

Wholesale giant Costco entered the GLP-1 chat earlier this month when it announced it would sell Danish biotech Novo Nordisk’s weight loss medication through its pharmacies.

As of Oct. 3, Costco will offer Wegovy and Ozempic for $499 per month, a discount off list prices of $1,349.02 and $997.58, respectively, for patients paying out of pocket. The wholesaler’s announcement is the latest partnership in Novo Nordisk’s strategy to offer more affordable options for its diabetes and weight loss medications.

Pankit Bhalodia, partner at consultancy West Monroe, told Healthcare Brew he’s “not super surprised” Costco is selling discounted GLP-1s “given the sheer demand” of the medication and the fact that direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings are becoming more common in biotech.

For one, Novo Nordisk already offers Wegovy and Ozempic through its own DTC site, NovoCare Pharmacy, also for $499 a month. It offered that price through partnerships with other big pharmacies like Walmart and its wholesaler Sam’s Club as well as CVS and drug discount company GoodRx.

Small shift. Rajiv Leventhal, senior analyst in digital health at research firm eMarketer, said Costco’s GLP-1 announcement is “important” but he doesn’t “expect a big market shift” because it’s available for $499 a month at these other pharmacies already.

The interesting part here, Leventhal added, is Costco’s partnership could raise awareness around affordable options for GLP-1s. Health research organization KFF reported 54% of US adults who have taken GLP-1s struggled to afford them.

Soon, he said, when Costco’s 81 million members go shopping, they may see a sign at the pharmacy offering Ozempic or Wegovy and decide to drop the cash.

“That’s still going to be a price point that’s very unaffordable for a lot of people, but Costco customers and members do skew higher income,” he said.

Still, it’s a good potential customer acquisition strategy for Novo Nordisk, Leventhal said, “because it’s tapping into a retailer that has a very, very loyal and large customer base.”

Overall, GLP-1s are getting cheaper, he added, because companies like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which makes GLP-1s Zepbound and Mounjaro, want to compete with the compounding market.

The compounding market includes companies like telehealth business Hims & Hers, which are selling GLP-1s made from similar ingredients but aren’t branded, FDA-approved drugs. Hims & Hers are providing it for much cheaper, too, at $199 a month.

The FDA is reportedly looking into these compounding companies for their advertising methods, but for now they’re still selling medications.

OK, that’s all your GLP-1 news—at least for the next 15 seconds.