UK pharmacist says Eli Lilly's Mounjaro price hike a 'shock'

Yahoo

a day ago

Eli Lilly will increase the UK list price of its blockbuster drug Mounjaro (tirzepatide) amid pressure from US President Donald Trump for drugmakers to hike prices outside the US.
In the UK, Mounjaro is indicated for the treatment of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and weight loss. In the US, the name Mounjaro is only used for T2D while Eli Lilly markets tirzepatide for weight loss in the US under the brand name Zepbound. Mounjaro generated global sales of $5.2bn in Q2 alone, up 68% from the same period last year.
In a statement sent to Pharmaceutical Technology, Eli Lilly said that the price changes will not affect the drug's availability on the UK's National Health Service (NHS), saying it had 'reached an agreement with the healthcare system to ensure continued supply and patient access'.
The drugmaker added: 'While Lilly does not determine the prices that private healthcare providers set, we are working with them to maintain patient access.'
Mounjaro's current list price in the UK ranges from £92 (approximately $125) to £122 a month, depending on the dose, according to Eli Lilly. The drug's new list price will increase to between £133 and £330 starting on 1 September.
GlobalData said in a research note: "For the UK, this latest step by Eli Lilly may potentially be seen as the start of a wave of higher medicine prices than the country has been accustomed to in recent years. Heading into 2026, [we] may expect to see a narrowing of the gap between the US and UK (and potentially between the US and EU) pricing for some new medicines."
When it was rolled out in the UK in February 2024, Eli Lilly agreed to a list price 'significantly below' that of other competitor European markets to stop delays in the availability of the medicine to diabetes patients through the NHS.
A pharmacist in London, who wishes to remain anonymous, told Pharmaceutical Technology: 'I was shocked today with the email that we pharmacists received about Mounjaro's price increase. We have so many patients on this medicine, and now half of them will be really struggling to pay for it.
'I already have some of them asking me for discounts and with the increase, that will be impossible. I feel really sad for patients who use the injection to control their blood sugar levels and now they might not be able to do so. Why did the manufacturer wait so long to make this price change?'
Dr Leyla Hannbeck, CEO of the Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA), said: "We are shocked and very disappointed," while reacting to the news.
Lilly said the changes, which follow a pricing review, 'address pricing inconsistencies compared to other developed countries, including in Europe'. International pricing pressures also contributed to the mark-up, according to the company.
President Trump has been pressuring US drugmakers to cut prices of prescription medicines in the country, which cost around three times more than identical counterparts in other developed nations.
He famously relayed a phone call he took from a friend in the UK, who complained about a 'damn fat drug' that cost $88 in London but $1,300 in New York.
The stark difference in costs for weight loss drugs was one of the factors that led Trump to introduce the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) policy, a framework that would tie US drug prices to the lowest prices in other developed countries. Amid pushback from the industry, Trump sent letters to leading pharma companies, including Eli Lilly, calling on them to take more steps to lower prices.
'[Eli] Lilly agrees with the policy objective expressed in the executive order that research costs for breakthrough medicines should be shared more fairly across developed countries. However, a Most Favoured Nation approach is not the answer to help patient affordability,' Eli Lilly told Pharmaceutical Technology.
"IPA calls on the other weight-loss manufacturers to hold their nerves and hold their prices. The British market for weight-loss jabs will is only set to grow, but it will only achieve that growth if treatment remains affordable to the average patient," Dr Hannbeck commented.
"UK pharmacist says Eli Lilly's Mounjaro price hike a 'shock'" was originally created and published by Pharmaceutical Technology, a GlobalData owned brand.
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