Eli Lilly Just Nuked the Buffet Industry (GLP-1 Hunger Games Are Officially Here)

“I’ve won but at what cost…” - Eli Lilly looking at their margins next quarter… 

Somebody check on Golden Corral, because the GLP-1 arms race just escalated, and the collateral damage is every all-you-can-eat trough between Tallahassee and Tacoma.

(Source: Reddit) 

Eli Lilly, fresh off its transformation as the first trillion-dollar healthcare unit, slashed Zepbound prices on LillyDirect. The new range is sitting in the range of $299 to $499, depending on how much you hate your body (read: dose). Which, if you’ve been keeping score, is a pretty aggressive haircut for a drug that still technically lists for over a grand.

Y tho? 

Apparently, Eli Lilly doesn’t want no scrubs. For context, this is the same week Novo Nordisk took a machete to Wegovy and Ozempic prices and Trump had them both dragged into the Oval Office to negotiate what can only be described as the first bipartisan agreement in 15 years: “Make Americans smaller.” Meaning, starting Dec. 1, anyone with a prescription can hop on LillyDirect and get the starter dose of Zepbound for $299. The mid-tier dose jumps to $399. And the top-tier runs $449.

(Source: CNBC) 

But, but, but… this is not the upcoming multi-dose pen TrumpRx deal (that one still hinges on FDA approval). Instead, these are existing vials. The actual, available, real-life product. Which means Lilly basically just made a move that has Martin Shkreli's skin crawling. It also means Zepbound is now brushing up against what can only be described as “psychologically acceptable pricing” for millions of Americans who already spent Thanksgiving googling dosage schedules between plates two and three.

Of course, Lilly knows exactly what it’s doing. Demand is volcanic. Insurance coverage is a joke. And direct-to-consumer sales already make up more than a third of new Zepbound prescriptions. So Lilly just built a cheaper on-ramp and handed every doctor’s office in the country a fast-pass to weight-loss Disneyland. Meanwhile, TrumpRx launches in January… meaning by Q1 we’re entering a world where people will be buying GLP-1s on a government website like they’re ordering a Borat Bikini (read: Apple socks).

(Source: Instagram) 

As for Novo, they’re obviously matching cuts. Offering $199 intro deals. Running simultaneous fire sales like a department store chain in Chapter 11. Because the game now is land-grab, not margin-grab. Whoever gets the biggest user base wins the decade. 

Which means… which means… We're now watching the obesity drug market turn into the smartphone wars. And the way these companies are pricing, this ends with every American either on a GLP-1 or complaining about someone they know who is. Place your bets accordingly, friends. Until next time… 

At the time of publishing, Stocks.News holds positions in Apple as mentioned in the article.