Express Scripts and Cigna Add Zepbound to Formularies
Zepbound, which was approved last month to treat obesity, is now available in U.S. pharmacies.
Effective Dec. 1, 2023, Lilly’s Zepbound (tirzepatide) was added to the national preferred formulary for Express Scripts and Cigna Healthcare. Additionally, effective Dec. 15, 2023, it will be added to Cigna Healthcare’s commercial formularies. Although Express Scripts is a PBM owned by Cigna, the companies maintain separate formularies.
Zepbound was approved in November to treat adults who are obese as measured by body mass index or those who are overweight and have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol. Tirzepatide is already approved with the name Mounjaro to treat adults with type 2 diabetes.
Zepbound is now available in pharmacies.
Zepbound is administered by injection under the skin once weekly. It is expected to be available by the end of the year in six doses at a list price of $1,059.87, which is about 20% lower than Wegovy (semaglutide), Lilly said in a press release. Lilly will also have a savings card program. Those with commercial insurance who have coverage for Zepbound will be eligible to pay as low as $25 for a one-month to three-month prescription.
Those with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for Zepbound may be eligible to pay as low as $550 for a one-month prescription of Zepbound, which is about 50% lower than the list price. Zepbound and Lilly’s commercial savings card program are now available at U.S. pharmacies.
Related: Lilly’s Weight Loss Drug Approved by the FDA
At the highest dose, people taking Zepbound lost on average 48 pounds, while at the lowest dose, people lost on average 34 pounds (compared with seven pounds on placebo). Additionally, one in three patients taking Zepbound at the highest dose lost more than 58 pounds (25% of body weight), compared with 1.5% on placebo.
The most common adverse events related to Zepbound were nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, constipation, abdominal pain, dyspepsia, injection-site reactions, fatigue, hypersensitivity reactions, eructation, hair loss and gastroesophageal reflux disease.
David Calabrese of OptumRx Talks New Role, Market Insulin Prices and Other Topics 'On His Mind'
April 13th 2023In this month’s episode of the "What's On Your Mind podcast," Peter Wehrwein, managing editor of MHE connects with the now Chief Clinical Officer of OptumRx Integrated Pharmacies, David Calabrese. In this conversation, David touches on his transition in January as OptumRx’s former chief pharmacy officer and market president of health plans and PBMs to his new role as Chief Clinical Officer where he now focuses more on things such as specialty pharmacy to home delivery — with an overall goal of creating whole-patient care. Throughout the conversation, Calabrese also touched on the market’s hot topic of insulin prices and behavioral health services within the OptumRx community, among other topics.
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