Mounjaro - crystal ball gazing….

[Wingingit11]

Fairly certain I want to remain on MJ long term as it’s worked well for over a year for me. Do we think pharmacies will stop selling it as they look to Wegovy? I wondered about if the price will climb down a bit in a few months time but maybe it won’t if the number of pharmacies selling it dwindles ….

I think that pharmacies will continue to sell it as there will always be a certain percentage of people who can and will pay for it. It is noticeably more effective than Wegovy and has less side effects (on average) so it will always have that appeal. Pharmacies may shift to advertising Wegovy as their first line approach to weight loss, but Mounjaro will still be an option.

The prices won’t fall, as they have been set by Eli Lilly in response to pressure from the US govt, it’s not to do with supply and demand in the usual way. I also think that they aren’t going to rise further, as that would price too many people out.

Agree with above - I think it will still be available. However, I also think there will be new compounds and oral medications in the future - I doubt any of us will be on Mounjaro in its current form for the rest of our lives as it will become obsolete.

Who knows what the future holds. If someone invents a pill it could be cheaper. Retatrutide will come in 2026/7 and it’s supposed to be more effective than Mournjaro so will become the premium product.

Yes, the tablet GLP1 Orforglipron looks like it will be available in 2026/27 which is likely to be cheaper than injections. No need for cold chain storage and delivery, and easier to mass produce. And then also the injectable GLP1 Retatrutide which is apparently more effective than Mounjaro, so it is likely to be the new preferred choice for people. That may mean that Mounjaro and Wegovy become cheaper worldwide if they are made significantly less appealing as a result of these new medications.

I wonder whether there will be the possibility of being prescribed the tablet Orforglipron for maintenance if you have lost the weight using Mounjaro/Wegovy? That would be ideal really!

I think that pharmacies are promoting wegovy at the moment because they are commercial bodies taking advantage of the situation. They are trying to keep hold of any customers who are worrying about the price rises of mounjaro.

Retatrutide is already the buzz word in the states, it's more effective than mounjaro, who knows what the price point will be here though

Surely, surely, if they have lots of competition the prices will go down?

Also I would imagine a lot more people would be more relaxed about taking a pill than having to inject themselves.

I guess I was thinking they will focus on W as presumably better profit margin etc

Not necessarily as it’s the same pharmaceuticals that are developing new drugs. So retatrutide is another Eli Lilly drug. They will probably price it higher than MJ at least until the MJ patent ends.

They have said patents will run out for mounjaro next year and then other pharmaceutical companies can reproduce it and at least initially undercut Eli Lily price wise .

I don’t think the UK patent for Mounjaro will expire next year, it’s much further away than that. This article puts it at 2032 for Mounjaro and 2028 for Wegovy (https://www.medicinesuk.com/view-news/first-wave-of-generic-weight-loss-medicines-available-in-the-uk.php)

I think in the US it’s different and companies that want to produce generics for Mounjaro can start legal challenges to do so from 2026.

MJ patent runs until 2032. Eli Lilly have MJ users under a tight grip for a while to come.

We are unlikely to see off-patents for a while yet.

Yes that’s right . Although pharmacies will be allowed to challenge the mounjaro patent
from may 11th 2026. So it’s possible we will have generic versions sooner.