The news: President Donald Trump remarked late last week that the cost of brand-name GLP-1 drugs could drop to $150 in the US.

Why it matters: A $150 price point for brand-name GLP-1s would make the medications much more affordable for consumers without health insurance coverage.

For context, list prices of blockbuster weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are over $1,000 a month in the US. Patients (even those without insurance coverage for the medications) rarely pay that price, though many do shell out more than $150. Novo recently dropped the cash-pay price of Wegovy and Ozempic to $499 per month, while Lilly has done the same for Zepbound.

Consumers are increasingly turning to the self-pay market due to health insurers restricting coverage of GLP-1s when prescribed for weight loss (as opposed to type 2 diabetes).

• Just 22% of health plans say they cover GLP-1s for obesity, per a June 2025 Pharmaceutical Strategies Group report.
• 43% of plans have never covered GLP-1s for weight loss and won’t consider doing so.
• Nearly one-quarter (23%) of GLP-1 users paid for their medication entirely out of pocket, according to EMARKETER’s December 2024 Digital Health survey.

Yes, but: Trump didn’t detail which insurance markets the lower-cost GLP-1s would apply to, or how he plans to force Novo and Lilly to drop their prices.

• His administration is currently working with drugmakers to offer some of their expensive medications at a discount when sold directly to consumers. Novo and Lilly have not yet struck drug pricing deals with the government, but it’s possible they are in negotiations. Both companies were among the 17 pharma firms Trump ordered in August to lower US drug prices.
• Separately, Ozempic and Wegovy are subject to forthcoming price cuts in Medicare as part of the government’s drug price negotiation program. But any price cut would only apply to diabetes patients who take GLP-1s since Medicare doesn’t currently cover the drugs for weight loss.

Our take: It’s unlikely that brand-name GLP-1s will cost $150 anytime soon. Although still too expensive for many, Novo and Lilly will argue that they’ve met Trump’s demands by slashing the price of their weight loss products roughly in half.

Still, with prescriptions surging, GLP-1 drugmakers must prepare for tougher scrutiny and calls from the government, doctors, and patients alike to make treatments more affordable. Pharma marketers should intensify messaging around their weight loss drugs being cost-effective over the long haul by preventing more serious chronic diseases. Novo and Lilly will also want to show they’re pressing wealthy nations to pay closer to US rates for prescription drugs, which could placate Trump in the near term.