Lilly to hike UK price of Mounjaro weight-loss drug by 170%

By Maggie Fick

SEATTLE (Reuters) -Eli Lilly will raise the UK list price of its weight-loss treatment Mounjaro by up to 170%, it said on Thursday, amid a White House push to get drugmakers to raise medicine prices in Europe to allow for price cuts in the United States.

The new price, which also applies to Lilly's type 2 diabetes medicine that has the same name, is effective from September. The price for a month's supply of the highest dose of the medicine will increase from £122 to £330, Lilly said.

The higher price will affect those who pay for Mounjaro privately, but will not affect those prescribed the medicine through the British public healthcare system, which has a separate deal, a Lilly spokesperson said.

The U.S. drugmaker said that when it launched Mounjaro in Britain it agreed to a list price "significantly below" that in its three other European markets to prevent delays in availability through Britain's National Health Service (NHS).

"We are now aligning the list price more consistently," Lilly said.

The move reflects how the pharmaceutical industry is navigating policy changes in the United States, by far its most lucrative market, where President Donald Trump is pushing for lower domestic prices and encouraging price hikes overseas.

Last week Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks told an investor call that parity between U.S. and European drug pricing was desirable in the long run, though he warned that European governments "are not signing up to pay more for drugs".

The U.S. pays more for prescription drugs than any other country, often nearly three times as much as other developed nations. Trump says he wants to narrow this gap to stop Americans from being "ripped off." 

Reuters reported last week that the Trump administration has been talking to drugmakers about ways to level the playing field for medicine prices.

A list price is set by the drug manufacturer before any rebates or discounts.

Lilly said it was working with private UK healthcare providers, such as online pharmacies, who can set their own prices, to ensure continued access to the medicines.

Lilly launched Mounjaro in the UK in February last year, while rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy treatment has been available in the country since September 2023.

(Reporting by Maggie FickEditing by Christina Fincher)