Ozempic and Wegovy, two popular weight loss medications made by biotech firm Novo Nordisk (NVO), are now available at Costco (COST) pharmacies across the U.S. at a discount. Interestingly, the company announced that a four-week supply of either drug will cost $499 out-of-pocket, according to NBC News. For those with insurance, the cost will depend on individual coverage, but the discounted price gives more people a chance to buy these medications at over 600 Costco locations.
Elevate Your Investing Strategy:
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 55% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
Unsurprisingly, Novo Nordisk said it wants to make sure that people have access to authentic versions of these medications, especially with cheaper and less regulated versions being sold by some compounding pharmacies and medical spas. However, Dr. Rekha Kumar explained that while having these drugs available at a familiar retail store could improve access, it won’t fix bigger issues like the high price or limited insurance coverage. In fact, for many uninsured patients, the cost is still too high.
In addition, access remains uneven, as only 13 states cover drugs for obesity, and about 1 in 5 privately insured Americans don’t have coverage for at least one GLP-1 brand. Indeed, according to Novo Nordisk, patients with coverage usually pay around $25 a month, but many are left out. As a result, Dr. Harlan Krumholz from Yale stressed that those who need these drugs most often can’t afford them. If the goal is to improve public health, he said, then the people with the greatest need must be able to access these medications.
Which Stock Is the Better Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, out of the two stocks mentioned above, analysts think that COST stock has more room to run than NVO. In fact, COST’s price target of $1,089.90 per share implies 19.1% upside versus NVO’s 1.2%.
