Still life of Wegovy with a weight scale.

(Michael Siluk/Getty Images)

Wegovy goes on sale after off-ramp for copycats ends

Novo is offering a one-month sale on Wegovy, and its partner telehealth platforms are offering creative ways to squeeze in a margin for themselves.

J. Edward Moreno

5/22/25 2:13PM

Wegovy, the blockbuster weight-loss jab made by Novo Nordisk, is on sale.

As of Thursday, compounding pharmacies can no longer sell exact copies of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Wegovy and its better-known sister diabetes drug, Ozempic. As one affordable option for the popular drug is curtailed, Novo has responded by slashing the price — temporarily.

Novo announced Thursday morning that it would offer the first month Wegovy at $199 for cash-paying patients, available until June 30. After that, patients will pay the $499 a month Novo normally charges cash-paying patients. (The drug costs upward of $1000 a month for those with insurance.)

Novo had previously announced partnerships with three telehealth companies — Ro, LifeMD, and Hims & Hers — to make Wegovy available on their platforms. The one-month discounted Wegovy is available on each platform as well, and each company found a creative way to squeeze in a margin.

Patients can get their first month of Wegovy for $199 at Ro, plus the cost of a monthly membership, which is $45 for the first month and $145 after that. LifeMD will charge $299 the first month and $599 thereafter, essentially adding $100 to the bill each month for access to its platform. Hims said it would charge $3,394 up front for a six-month supply, which comes out to $549 a month.

The push for Wegovy comes as sales for its competitor, Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, are catching up to it. The company recently ousted its CEO after slowing sales of its GLP-1 drugs dragged down its stock price.

Novo has said compounding pharmacies have weighed on its sales. In an announcement on Thursday, the firm threatened legal action against compounding pharmacies that continue to mass-produce semaglutide.

As of Thursday morning, Hims still offered personalized compounded semaglutide to those that fill out its onboarding questionnaire. The company has previously said that high rates of side effects create a need to make personalized versions of the drug, which are also a higher-margin business than flipping Novo’s cash price Wegovy.

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eBay stock slumps on gloomy Q4 outlook despite solid Q3 earnings

Shares of eBay fell as much as 10.5% in premarket trading on Thursday morning after the company gave a lower-than-expected profit forecast for the important holiday shopping season.

The e-commerce giant reported solid numbers for the third quarter on Wednesday, with revenue up 9% as reported to $2.8 billion and gross merchandise volume rising 10% to $20.1 billion, topping the average analyst forecast of $19.4 billion, per Bloomberg.

However, concerns about the future somewhat overshadowed these results.

eBay outlined its profit outlook for the period ending in December to $1.31 to $1.36 a share, with revenue at $2.83 billion to $2.89 billion. According to Bloomberg-compiled data, this broadly matches Wall Street’s estimates for the top line, but misses on the bottom line, with analysts forecasting EPS to come in at $1.39 — suggesting the company expects some further margin pressure.

The company has been facing macroeconomic challenges since the US ended the de minimis tariff exemption in late August, with the online marketplace reliant on shipments. One small silver lining? CFO Peggy Alford highlighted a “less durable trend” on a post-earnings call: that as commodity prices for precious metals boomed, demand for bullion and collectible coins on eBay spiked.