Eli Lilly sells cheaper Zepbound option to meet demand
Eli Lilly has begun selling it’s blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound in vials – at about half the cost of some of its original doses.
Eli Lilly said on Monday it sued three medical spas and online vendors for selling products that claimed to contain tirzepatide, the main ingredient in its popular weight-loss medicine Zepbound, including some dissolvable tablets.
The new lawsuits, aimed at Pivotal Peptides, MangoRx and Genesis Lifestyle Medicine of Nevada, are the first related to copycat tirzepatide since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took the drug off its list of medicines in short supply earlier this month.
Lilly said these lawsuits were not contingent on tirzepatide coming off that list and could have been filed regardless of whether supply issues had been resolved.
Pivotal Peptides says it offers research-grade tirzepatide, while MangoRx sells a compounded version, both are available online. Medical spa Genesis sells and administers compounded versions of the drug, according to the lawsuits.
Lilly accused Pivotal Peptides of selling products that claim to contain tirzepatide directly to patients without a prescription from a medical professional, despite advertising the drugs for research purposes.
The lawsuits were filed in federal and state courts in Indiana, Texas and Washington, accusing the defendants of false advertising and promotion. Lilly said it sent a “cease and desist” letter to Pivotal Peptides before it filed the lawsuit.
“Lilly is bringing these actions to protect American consumers from direct patient safety risks,” said a spokesperson for the drugmaker, adding that the defendants were making false claims about efficacy or safety, and misleading consumers about the clinical data used to back them.
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker has already sued more than two dozen medical spas, wellness centers and compounding pharmacies for selling products that claim to contain tirzepatide, which is also approved to treat type 2 diabetes under the brand name Mounjaro.
In its most recent filings, Lilly said MangoRx was selling an oral version of tirzepatide branded as Trim, despite the lack of any study showing that formulation to be safe and effective. The FDA to date has only approved tirzepatide as an injectable drug.
After Lilly sent Pivotal Peptides a “cease and desist” letter, the vendor changed its website to say it was under maintenance and altered its operations to sales via email, social media and word of mouth, according to the drugmaker’s lawsuit.
Lilly said Genesis said it sold compounded tirzepatide with vitamin B12, and that such combinations are “untested, unproven, and expose consumers to an unjustifiable risk of harm.”
Eli Lilly is seeking court orders barring the vendors from selling their drugs that say they contain tirzepatide and unspecified damages.
In a court filing earlier this month, the FDA agreed to reconsider a decision last month to bar drug compounders from selling their versions of Eli Lilly’s blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs.
The agency said in a court filing it would allow compounding pharmacies and facilities to keep providing the drugs while it reviews whether there is a shortage of their active ingredient. The compounding versions of the drugs are cheaper for patients than the brand-name versions.
The decision was in response to a lawsuit brought by the Outsourcing Facilities Association, a compounding industry group. After the FDA’s decision on Friday to reconsider, U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth, Texas put the lawsuit on hold.
