11:04 AM EST, 03/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) said Wednesday that it launched a direct-to-patient online pharmacy through which it will offer its weight loss injection at more than half the list price.

The company's NovoCare Pharmacy will offer Wegovy directly to cash-paying patients who have been prescribed the treatment but don't have coverage through insurance. The drug will cost $499 per month, compared with its list price of $1,349.02.

Most people, however, don't pay Wegovy's list price if their health insurance covers weight-management medications, according to NovoCare's website.

"Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) continues to advance solutions for patients that improve affordability and access to our medicines, whether they have insurance or not," Dave Moore, president of Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), said in a statement.

The drugmaker's New York Stock Exchange-listed shares climbed 3.9% in Wednesday trade.

Insured patients in the US that have coverage specifically for weight management medicines, which Moore said totals 55 million people, pay $0 to $25 a month for Wegovy.

On a call with analysts early last month, Moore said weekly prescriptions of Wegovy in the US more than doubled in a year to around 200,000.

In December, the Food and Drug Administration issued a warning about unapproved glucagon-like peptide-1 treatments.

In February, Eli Lilly ( LLY ) reduced the pricing on certain dosages of its weight-loss drug, Zepbound, for self-pay patients.

Price: 91.02, Change: +3.52, Percent Change: +4.02