Eli Lilly and Walmart to Offer Discounted Retail Option for Zepbound

Eli Lilly and Walmart on Wednesday said they have partnered to expand access to the drugmaker's weight-loss drug Zepbound, allowing American patients to get vials of the blockbuster shot at direct-to-consumer prices through retail stores for the first time.

The announcement comes as Eli Lilly works to maintain its dominance over its rival. Nordisk in the burgeoning market for a class of obesity and diabetes drugs called GLP-1. It also comes as the Trump administration pressures drugmakers to make it easier for Americans to access medicines, pressuring them to use direct-to-consumer models that cut out middlemen.

Beginning in mid-November, cash-paying patients with a prescription can purchase single-dose vials of Zepbound at discounts of 50% or more off its list price through retail stores or through home delivery. Walmart, which operates nearly 4,600 pharmacies across the United States, will serve as the first in-store pickup pharmacy option for Zepbound vials through Eli Lilly's direct-to-consumer cash payment platform, LillyDirect.

It is LillyDirect's first retail collaboration since launching in January 2024, following partnerships with several telehealth companies. Eli Lilly did not provide an estimate of how much Walmart's offering will expand Zepbound's reach. But Walmart's national presence makes it the largest U.S. retailer, LillyDirect CEO Jennifer Mazur told CNBC in an interview.

Walmart is the fifth-largest pharmacy in the U.S., based on total revenue from prescription dispensing in 2024. The partnership could help Eli Lilly maintain its competitive advantage over Novo Nordisk as the Danish drugmaker works to expand access to its weight-loss drug Wegovy through an agreement with CVS and its pharmacy benefits manager, Caremark.

Zepbound single-dose vials will cost $349 per month for the initial dose and $499 per month for all other doses. That price is consistent across all LillyDirect home delivery or Walmart pickup options.

As for whether patients would choose pickup or delivery, Mazur said, “I think it comes down to each person, their lifestyle and how they choose to access healthcare.”

“Our goal is really to reach as many people where they are and give them more choice, more convenience and continue to offer people price transparency,” he continued.

Mazur said LillyDirect has seen “tremendous uptake” with home delivery, but noted that consumers might prefer to go in person because they have an established relationship with a local pharmacist or find it more convenient to pick up prescriptions at their neighborhood pharmacy.

LillyDirect, which launched more than a year before Novo Nordisk's own direct-to-consumer platform, has helped Eli Lilly gain ground on its rival.

Direct-to-consumer sales now account for more than a third of Zepbound's new recipes, Mazur said. He said the company reached a tipping point after August 2024, when Eli Lilly began offering Zepbound vials for cash at more than 50% below the drug's list price.

Mazur said Eli Lilly shares the Trump administration's goal of making drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration more accessible and affordable for Americans.

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with management to achieve our shared goals and will continue to innovate with LillyDirect,” he said.

President Donald Trump is working to reach drug pricing deals with pharmaceutical companies as part of his controversial “most favored nation” policy, which aims to tie U.S. drug prices to the lowest-paid ones in other developed countries.

Trump has so far announced agreements with Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Merck Serono, the world's largest maker of fertility drugs, but not Eli Lilly.