March 5 (Reuters) - Novo Nordisk said on Wednesday it would offer doses of its weight-loss drug Wegovy at a reduced cost of $499 per month for cash-paying customers in the United States, as it looks to stave off growing competition from compounded versions.
Wegovy has a list price of around $1,350 a month, regardless of dosage, not taking any coupons and rebates into account.
US-listed shares of Novo Nordisk jumped 4.9% in premarket trading.
The move comes just a week after rival Eli Lilly cut the price for vials of its own weight-loss drug Zepbound by $50 or more and expanded the range of doses sold through its LillyDirect website.
The Wegovy doses, offered through a program called NovoCare Pharmacy, will be available for uninsured patients or eligible patients with commercial insurance who do not have coverage for obesity medicines, the company said.
The development comes after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on February 21 that there was no longer a shortage of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss and diabetes drugs, Wegovy and Ozempic, a declaration that will curtail widespread sales of cheaper copies made by compounding pharmacies.