*

Deadline for halting sales of compounded Wegovy passed on

Thursday

*

Patients stockpile copies, take other steps

*

Experts warn against self-adjusted doses at home

By Sriparna Roy

May 23 (Reuters) - After years of easily available,

cheap copies of Eli Lilly's ( LLY ) and Novo Nordisk's highly effective

weight-loss drugs, some U.S. patients say they are unwilling to

pay more and are pursuing alternatives to get around the

regulatory deadline for compounding pharmacies to stop making

them.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cracked down on

compounded drugs, which were readily available while the

patented ones were in shortage, and many are worried they will

lose access to the treatments that have given them hope and

changed their lives, according to interviews with 10 patients.

"I do not have the money to be spending $350, and that's the

entry-level dose," said Amanda Bonello, a 36-year-old based in

Iowa, referring to the price that Lilly charges for the 2.5 mg

dose.

"It would not be easy thinking about the Christmas presents

that would be missed that year and other opportunities that my

family could potentially have."

The branded drugs cost more than $1,000 per month though

both Lilly and Novo charge less for

purchases on their websites - as low as $349 - and at some

pharmacies. On Thursday, Novo introduced a one-month price of

$199, coinciding with the deadline for halting sales of

compounded versions.

Health insurance can cover much of that cost, but most

Americans are not covered for these drugs. The average price on

telehealth sites for compounded drugs is about $200.

For two years, patients have turned to compounded versions,

in which pharmacies mix the drug ingredients, while Wegovy and

Zepbound were hard to get. The FDA set a May 22 deadline for

large compounding facilities to stop producing versions of

Novo's drugs, having already done so for Lilly's.

Patients told Reuters they have turned to stockpiling the

compounded drugs or prescription hopping, a practice in which

they go from one provider to another to collect these drugs, or

source the drugs from countries like Canada.

Patients are saving the stocked up drugs in their

refrigerators, and some are tailoring the dose to make them last

longer, even beyond their expiration date.

"It's been a roller coaster, and it's been so stressful that

so many people have just stuck their heads in the sand while

others have been stockpiling to prepare," said Bonello, who

started building up a one-year stockpile in October 2024.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson said the company would continue

to develop solutions to make Wegovy more accessible, pointing to

its direct-to-consumer website as an example.

"Unfortunately, today people living with obesity continue to

fight stigma and bias within a complex healthcare system that

still denies coverage to medically-prescribed and effective

treatments," the spokesperson said.

"We recognize that affordability challenges are real for

many patients and not all situations are the same," the

spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Eli Lilly ( LLY ) did not respond to a Reuters request for comment

on this story.

LIMITED OPTIONS

Three patients told Reuters they would consider buying the

brand-name drugs from the manufacturer's websites, if they were

more affordable, but without insurance coverage it meant they

still had to sacrifice elsewhere.

"They are still kind of leaps and bounds from where the

price of compound is, and they just still don't quite fit into

my budget at this time," said 32-year-old Zach Niemiec, who is

based in Colorado, and works in the nutrition industry.

Telehealth companies that sell compounded weight-loss drugs

are still trying to figure out how to stay in the market. Noom,

for instance, is pushing a new regimen it says would fall under

a personalized dosage exception.

Veronica Johnson, a Chicago-based obesity medicine physician

at Northwestern Medicine, advised against the at-home

adjustments patients are making.

"The stockpiling and trying to do your own dosing if you're

not under, and even if you are under, the medical expertise of

someone, puts a lot more harm to potential issues going

forward," said Johnson.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; editing by Caroline

Humer and Sriraj Kalluvila)