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Lilly to raise UK price to mirror other European markets

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Trump seeking lower US drug prices, pushing price hikes

abroad

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Price hike will not affect Mounjaro supply on state-run

NHS

(Adds details in paragraphs 2, 3 and 10, quotes in paragraph 5

and 7)

By Maggie Fick

SEATTLE, Aug 14 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) 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 ( LLY ) 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.