Peptide News Digest

GLP-1 Drug Pricing Guide: Best Prices as of September 2026

September 2026 GLP-1 prices: Medicare Bridge $50 copay two months in, TrumpRx $149-$299, Wegovy $199 intro to Dec 31, Zepbound $299-$449, UK pill from £79.

This guide covers everything since the June 13 update; the series skipped July and August. Since then Medicare's Bridge opened, TrumpRx.gov began showing manufacturer starter prices, and Novo Nordisk extended its $199 Wegovy starter offer.

The Medicare GLP-1 Bridge is two months old. Since July 1, 2026, eligible Medicare Part D members pay a flat $50 for each 30-day fill of Wegovy (pen or pill), Zepbound KwikPen, or Foundayo. Humana processes every claim as the single central processor. Prescribers file a prior authorization, the approval a payer grants before a pharmacy can fill. Medicare pays a net $245 a month under the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) deal, which leaves a $195 federal share after the copay. KFF puts the 18-month cost between $1.3 billion and $10 billion, depending on uptake among 3.8 million eligible people. The first week brought pharmacy denials. A billing routing error caused them, not eligibility, and the fix was a pharmacy code.

Novo kept the $199 Wegovy starter price through year-end. The June guide expected it to expire June 30. Instead, NovoCare's live page runs the $199 new-patient price for the first two monthly fills through December 31, 2026, then $349. Wegovy HD 7.2 mg stays at $399. TrumpRx.gov shows the same numbers on its homepage: Wegovy pen $199, Wegovy pill $149 (1.5 mg), Ozempic $199, Zepbound $299. Those are starting-dose prices routed to NovoCare and LillyDirect. One promotion did expire on schedule. The Wegovy pill 4 mg dose went from $149 to $199 on September 1.

Compounding is narrowing. The FDA's April 30 proposal would remove semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list. Comments closed July 30, 2026, after a June 26 Federal Register notice extended the June 30 deadline; no final rule had appeared by September 2. 503B facilities compound in bulk; 503A pharmacies fill one named patient's prescription and can still dispense. Mochi Health lists compounded semaglutide from $60 a month plus a $79 membership, next to branded Wegovy from $199. Hims & Hers, which moved most patients to branded Wegovy in March, reported $753 million in Q2 revenue.

Bottom line for September 2026: with commercial insurance and a savings card, $25 a month. Self-pay starts at $149 (Wegovy pill 1.5 mg, Foundayo 0.8 or 2.5 mg) and tops out at $449 (Zepbound 7.5 mg and up) or $499 (Ozempic 2 mg). Medicare Bridge patients pay $50. WAC list prices, the manufacturer's sticker price before discounts, sit at $1,349.02 for Wegovy and $1,027.51 for Ozempic. Almost nobody pays them. Zepbound returns to CVS Caremark's commercial formulary (the covered-drug list) on October 1. Caremark is a PBM, or pharmacy benefit manager, which sets drug coverage for employer plans. The FDA also accepted two Sandoz ANDAs (abbreviated new drug applications, the generic-approval filing) for tirzepatide on June 29, with no launch date.

Companion guides: Compounded GLP-1 Pricing After the 503B Rule, Wegovy Pill Pricing: September 2026, International GLP-1 Price Comparison 2026, and Medicare GLP-1 Bridge Pricing 2026. The prior baseline is GLP-1 Pricing: June 2026.

View pricing trends charts →

Medicare GLP-1 Bridge — Two Months In

The Bridge launched July 1, 2026 and now runs through December 31, 2027; CMS extended it because the BALANCE Model is not launching in Medicare in 2027. Humana adjudicates every claim, and pharmacies must bill the Bridge's own identifiers (BIN 028918, PCN MEDDGLP1BR) rather than the patient's regular Part D plan. That routing detail caused the first week's denials, reported July 6. CMS has not posted enrollment or claims counts on its Bridge pages as of September 2.

Channel Price Source
Patient Copay (Part D, Bridge) $50 per 30-day fill CMS
Medicare Net Price (MFN) $245/mo KFF
Pharmacy Reimbursement WAC minus $50, plus $3 fee CMS
Covered Drugs Wegovy pen and pill, Zepbound KwikPen, Foundayo CMS
KFF 18-Month Cost Projection $1.3B-$10B KFF
Early Pharmacy Denials (Fix) Bill Humana: BIN 028918 / PCN MEDDGLP1BR Medical Daily
Program End Date December 31, 2027 CMS

Compounded Semaglutide and Tirzepatide — After the 503B Comment Window

The FDA's April 30, 2026 proposal would strike semaglutide, tirzepatide, and liraglutide from the 503B bulks list, ending bulk compounding by outsourcing facilities. Comments closed July 30, 2026, after a June 26 Federal Register notice extended the original June 30 deadline, and no final rule had published by September 2. 503A pharmacies, which compound for a named patient under state board oversight, can still dispense, and telehealth platforms still list compounded doses beside branded ones. Hims & Hers reported $753.2 million in Q2 revenue on August 10, with gross margin down to 64% from 76% after moving most US patients to branded Wegovy.

Channel Price Source
FDA 503B Proposed Rule (Comment Period) Closed July 30, 2026 Federal Register
FDA Finding (April 30, 2026) No clinical need for 503B compounding FDA
Mochi Health Compounded Semaglutide (503A) From $60/mo + $79 membership Mochi Health
Mochi Health Compounded Tirzepatide (503A) From $90/mo + $79 membership Mochi Health
Mochi Health Branded (Comparison) Wegovy from $199, Zepbound from $299, Foundayo from $149 Mochi Health
Hims & Hers Q2 2026 (Branded Pivot) $753.2M revenue; 64% gross margin Hims & Hers via Nasdaq

TrumpRx.gov — What the Portal Lists in September 2026

TrumpRx.gov links patients to the manufacturers' own self-pay programs rather than selling drugs itself. On September 2, 2026 the homepage listed four GLP-1s, and Foundayo and Mounjaro did not appear. The Wegovy pen page repeats NovoCare's terms: $199 for the first two fills for new patients, then $349, or $399 for HD 7.2 mg. The Zepbound page sends buyers to LillyDirect for 2.5-15 mg vials.

Channel Price Source
TrumpRx: Wegovy Pill (1.5 mg) $149/mo TrumpRx.gov
TrumpRx: Wegovy Pen $199/mo TrumpRx.gov
TrumpRx: Ozempic $199/mo TrumpRx.gov
TrumpRx: Zepbound Vials $299/mo TrumpRx.gov
Medicare MFN Price (Injectables) $245/mo AMCP

Wegovy Injectable — $199 Intro Runs Through December 31, 2026

Novo Nordisk's weekly semaglutide injection for obesity. The $199 new-patient offer on the 0.25 and 0.5 mg starter doses now covers two monthly fills for prescriptions received by December 31, 2026; the June guide had expected it to end June 30. Patients with Medicare, Medicaid, or other government coverage are excluded from the $25 card. Novo's H1 2026 report (August 4) booked DKK 37.7 billion in Wegovy injection sales and cited lower realised US prices from the MFN agreement.

Channel Price Source
List Price (WAC) $1,349.02/package NovoCare
NovoCare New-Patient Offer (0.25, 0.5 mg) $199/mo for first 2 fills Wegovy.com
NovoCare Self-Pay (0.25-2.4 mg) $349/mo Wegovy.com
NovoCare Self-Pay (Wegovy HD 7.2 mg) $399/mo NovoCare
Commercial Insurance + Savings Card As low as $25/mo Wegovy.com
Medicare GLP-1 Bridge $50 per 30-day fill CMS

Wegovy Pill vs Foundayo — The 4 mg Launch Price Ended August 31

Two oral GLP-1s now compete on price. Novo's Wegovy pill (oral semaglutide, list price $1,349.02) costs $149 at 1.5 mg, $199 at 4 mg since September 1 (the $149 launch price for 4 mg ended August 31, 2026), and $299 at 9 and 25 mg. Lilly's Foundayo (orforglipron, list price $649) undercuts it at the top: $299 for the 9, 14.5, and 17.2 mg doses when refilled within 45 days, with the 2.5 mg dose cut to $149 and 5.5 mg to $199 through December 31, 2026. Novo says the Wegovy pill passed 5 million US prescriptions since its January launch; Lilly booked $98 million of Foundayo revenue in Q2 2026.

Channel Price Source
Wegovy Pill Self-Pay (1.5 mg) $149/mo NovoCare
Wegovy Pill Self-Pay (4 mg) $199/mo NovoCare
Wegovy Pill Self-Pay (9 and 25 mg) $299/mo NovoCare
Foundayo LillyDirect Self-Pay (0.8 and 2.5 mg) $149/mo Foundayo (Lilly)
Foundayo LillyDirect Self-Pay (5.5 mg) $199/mo Foundayo (Lilly)
Foundayo LillyDirect Self-Pay (9, 14.5, 17.2 mg) $299/mo Foundayo (Lilly)
IQVIA Weekly Prescriptions (Late August 2026) Foundayo 40,862 vs Wegovy pill 176,000+ Fierce Pharma

Zepbound and Mounjaro — Caremark Return October 1, Sandoz Generics Filed

Lilly's tirzepatide for obesity (Zepbound) and type 2 diabetes (Mounjaro). LillyDirect self-pay pricing is now the same for KwikPens and vials: $299 at 2.5 mg, $399 at 5 mg, and $449 from 7.5 mg up if the refill lands within 45 days. CVS Caremark adds Zepbound back to its commercial formularies as a preferred option on October 1, 2026, and the FDA accepted two Sandoz ANDAs for generic tirzepatide autoinjectors on June 29 with no action date set. Lilly's first-half 2026 tirzepatide revenue reached $27.7 billion (Mounjaro $18.6 billion, Zepbound $9.1 billion), and its August 5 release cited previously announced cuts to Zepbound cash-pay prices.

Channel Price Source
LillyDirect Self-Pay (2.5 mg KwikPen or 4 Vials) $299/mo Zepbound (Lilly)
LillyDirect Self-Pay (5 mg) $399/mo Zepbound (Lilly)
LillyDirect Self-Pay (7.5, 10, 12.5, 15 mg) $449/mo Zepbound (Lilly)
Zepbound Commercial Insurance + Savings Card As low as $25 Zepbound (Lilly)
Zepbound via CVS Caremark (Commercial) Preferred option from October 1, 2026 CVS Health
Mounjaro Savings Program (Commercial) As low as $25 Mounjaro (Lilly)
Sandoz Generic Tirzepatide (ANDAs) Accepted June 29, 2026 Sandoz

Ozempic — $199 Intro Through December 31, Pill Tiers Match Wegovy

Novo's semaglutide for type 2 diabetes. The new-patient structure mirrors Wegovy: $199 for the first two months on 0.25 or 0.5 mg, then $349 up to 1 mg and $499 at 2 mg. The Ozempic pill (the diabetes-labeled oral) prices like the Wegovy pill at $149, $199, and $299. Ozempic is one of the four injectables set at $245 for Medicare under the MFN deal, but it sits outside the Bridge, which covers obesity drugs only.

Channel Price Source
List Price $1,027.51 per pen or 30-tablet bottle NovoCare
NovoCare New-Patient Offer (0.25, 0.5 mg pen) $199/mo for first 2 fills Ozempic.com
NovoCare Self-Pay (0.25, 0.5, 1 mg pen) $349/mo NovoCare Price Guide
NovoCare Self-Pay (2 mg pen) $499/mo NovoCare Price Guide
Ozempic Pill Self-Pay (1.5 / 4 / 9 mg) $149 / $199 / $299 per mo NovoCare Price Guide
Commercial Insurance + Savings Card As low as $25 Ozempic.com

International Snapshot — UK Private Pill From £79, France Reimburses 65%

The UK Wegovy pill went on private sale in late June after the June 11 MHRA approval; NHS access still waits on NICE, the body that judges cost-effectiveness for the NHS. Superdrug opened at £79 for new patients on 1.5 mg on July 4. Medino's August 25 comparison of 16 providers puts Boots at £99-£229 across the four doses and Simple Online Pharmacy at £129-£170. In France, Wegovy FlexTouch and Mounjaro KwikPen became 65% reimbursable on June 15, 2026 for adults with a BMI of 40 or more, or 35 or more with a comorbidity, at public prices of EUR 146.91-195.10 and EUR 176.10-433.80 per pen.

Channel Price Source
UK Superdrug Wegovy Pill (1.5 mg, Private) £79/mo new patients LBC
UK Boots Wegovy Pill (1.5-25 mg, Private) £99-£229/mo medino
UK Simple Online Pharmacy Wegovy Pill (1.5-25 mg, Private) £129-£170/mo medino
France Wegovy FlexTouch (Public Price) EUR 146.91-195.10/pen Vidal
France Mounjaro KwikPen (Public Price) EUR 176.10-433.80/pen Vidal