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.

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.