Following Monday’s clinical defeat by Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk cut the 2027 list prices for its three GLP-1 medicines by as much as 50%, while boasting Phase 2 data for its invesigational triple-G agonist.
Starting next year, Novo Nordisk will list its three GLP-1 medicines for $675—a 50% discount from Wegovy’s current cost and a 35% cut for diabetes drug Ozempic.
The move, announced Tuesday morning, comes after weight loss rival Eli Lilly overtook the Danish pharma in GLP-1 sales in 2025 and just a day after Novo’s market cap sunk to pre-Wegovy levels following a clinical loss of next-gen obesity candidate CagriSema to Lilly’s Zepbound. In a separate announcement also on Tuesday, Novo touted nearly 20% weight loss after 24 weeks for its United Biotechnology–partnered triple-G agonist.
“Several updates across Novo’s business this morning as the company works to right the ship following yesterday’s challenging update,” BMO Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note to investors Tuesday morning. “[The] announced cuts to the list prices of the company’s incretin products mark a repositioning for Novo, but remain too early as the company continues to lose ground to Lilly.”
Novo’s pricing announcement is the latest in a series of maneuvers after President Donald Trump threw the spotlight on the cost of GLP-1 drugs last year. In November, both Novo and Lilly struck deals with the White House to offer their GLP-1 medicines through Trump’s direct-to-consumer marketplace for about $350 per month. Novo also agreed at the time to sell oral Wegovy for $150 for the initial doses—a promise it made good on when the pill launched last month.
Following the White House deals, Novo said it would offer a self-pay option for Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 per month. Weeks later, Lilly responded, once again cutting the price of its GLP-1 weight loss option, Zepbound, when purchased through the direct-to-consumer (DTC) platform LillyDirect. The cost for a one-month supply of the drug’s lowest dose (2.5 mg)—recommended only as a starter dose—went from $349 to $299, while the 5-mg dose went from $499 per month to $399. All other doses—7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15 mg—dropped from $499 to $449 per month.
“With Novo continuing to lose ground in the GLP-1 battle, pricing cuts reflect pressure the company faces trying to grow its top line while the clinical efficacy of its products appears disadvantaged vs agents like [Lilly’s] tirzepatide,” BMO wrote.
Novo’s shares dropped more than 20% on Monday after the trial news broke while Lilly’s stock jumped. Today, Lilly’s share price dipped slightly on Novo’s price cut announcement.
“Importantly, we do not see these list price changes as a true headwind to Lilly,” BMO wrote. “We expect net pricing declines to continue to occur over time, but list price adjustments are unlikely to significantly impact the rate of these net price declines.”
Novo’s latest price cut follows Monday’s news that the Danish pharma’s next-generation obesity candidate CagriSema lost to Zepbound in a head-to-head trial initiated by Novo. In the Phase REDEFINE 4 trial, CagriSema—a fixed dose combo of 2.4 mg semaglutide and 2.4 mg cagrilintide—elicited 23% weight loss over 84 weeks compared to Zepbound’s 25.5%.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Novo announced that its triple-G agonist, UBT251, led to 19.7% weight loss after 24 weeks in a Phase 2 trial based in China. The candidate was “safe and well-tolerated” with a profile consistent with incretin-based therapies, the company reported. UB251, on which Novo is partnered with United Biotechnology, targets the receptors for GLP-1, GIP and glucagon.
In comparison, Lilly’s own triple-G competitor retatrutide showed around 17.5% weight loss in a Phase 2 study, according to BMO. UBT251 “shows some promise, but remains too early,” according to BMO.
“[W]ith Novo significantly behind retatrutide’s clinical development timeline, today’s results have less significance in the near term,” the analysts added.
