Health
Weight-Loss Drugs Will Be Sold as Pills, With Just as Many Side Effects and Cost Issues
- A pill version of Novo’s Ozempic shot costs $936 a month
- Pfizer, Astra, biotechs see oral drugs as route into obesity
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Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. are touting pill versions of their blockbuster weight-loss drugs that could come as soon as next year. But if you’re expecting something cheaper and with fewer side effects, think again.
Obesity pills under development have some major shortcomings in ease of use and side effects that patients may not be prepared for. And if a tablet from Novo that’s already on the market is any guide, some will cost just as much as the injections that are already giving patients and insurers pause.