Eli Lilly rolls out monthly multidose Zepbound pens on LillyDirect

About a month after the FDA approved a label expansion for its blockbuster obesity drug, Zepbound, Eli Lilly has begun rolling out the newly cleared multi-dose option, which delivers a month's worth of doses in a single injection pen, the pharma giant announced today.

The multi-use device -- branded as the KwikPen -- is now available to cash-pay patients through the company's digital health platform, LillyDirect. The lowest Zepbound dose is priced at $299 per month, according to Lilly's press release.

Although pricing for higher doses wasn't disclosed in the release, Lilly has previously said that patients who use LillyDirect will pay no more than $449 a month for Zepbound's multi-dose pen under the Most Favored Nation pricing agreement made last November with the Trump administration.

The Zepbound KwikPen rollout could expand obesity treatment options and is part of the company's "commitment to supporting people living with obesity in their weight management journey," Ilya Yuffa, executive vice president and president of Lilly USA and global customer capabilities, said in the announcement.

Because the pen allows patients to take four weekly doses of the obesity and sleep apnea therapy with a single device, it may offer a more convenient option for some patients and providers, Lilly said, helping to ensure they can choose the option that best fits the individual's needs, preferences and circumstances.

Zepbound is also available in single-dose vials as well as single-dose autoinjectors, both of which can be purchased on Lilly's self-pay pharmacy channel, too, the company said.

Lilly's KwikPen, first launched in the U.S. in 2008, is also used for several other drugs in the company's portfolio, including its diabetes medication Mounjaro.

Alivia Kaylor is a scientist and the senior site editor of Pharma Life Sciences.