Comment by loeg
As others have pointed out, the drugs on this list go into effect in 2027, which is after the EU semaglutide patents expire (2026), so that might be a pretty compelling reason for semaglutide pricing to be more flexible than tirzepatide.
> The real kicker is that for some brands/doses the price doesn't vary whether you get more or less of the drug - so people end up asking to for a prescription to the highest dose off-label and then split the dose themselves.
FWIW, I'm paying cash buying it directly from Lily, and they charge $400/mo for the 2.5mg dose and $550/mo for the 5mg dose. So, some price differentiation between dose sizes, but not linear.
Yeah. I've seen some split between low vs high doses, where the first two doses cost less than the rest - a cynical take is that they want to make it cheaper to get started knowing they will get you hooked possibly for life, or at least the duration of their patent.
But yes, non-linear by design - a 15mg dose provides 6x the medication but cannot be sold for 6x the price or people will stay on lower doses (or discontinue) rather than going to a higher dose.
Meanwhile it provides 6x the medication. One multi-use 4-week pen has enough to provide 12 weeks of doses at 4-week titration if used off-label. Obviously this is only helpful on low doses.
Important note: I am not a doctor, I don't recommend doing this - in fact, I have not done it myself and will probably not do it in future. I have seen YouTube videos of medical professionals explaining how to dose split weight loss drugs though.
I would highly recommend dose splitting the brand name drug over picking some compounding pharmacy's version of the drug, or worse, buying it off the street. It's crazy though, there are even counterfeit medications in the supply chain sometimes, for example: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-w...