Reporters flag the gaps in the tirzepatide pricing deal

News coverage published November 7, 2025, examined the White House's announced deal to lower prices on Wegovy and Zepbound and found gaps that could limit how much patients actually save. Reporters and policy experts said several products included in the agreement have not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, that advertised low prices mostly cover starting doses rather than the higher doses many patients eventually need, and that the deal does not expand Medicare coverage to people seeking the drugs for weight loss alone ^[1].

Among the unapproved products are oral versions of the weight loss drugs and Eli Lilly's new multidose injection pen for Zepbound, which the company says is the version included in the pricing agreement even though it has not received FDA clearance ^[1]. Novo Nordisk's oral semaglutide is under FDA review, with a decision expected in the coming weeks, and Lilly has not yet submitted its weight loss pill, orforglipron, to the agency at all ^[1]. Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute called it "reckless to negotiate pricing deals on products which the FDA have not yet approved as safe and effective" ^[1]. Lilly CEO David Ricks said the FDA has agreed to give the pill an expedited review as part of the deal ^[1].

On pricing, the White House said starting doses of weight loss pills would cost $149 a month and injections would average $350 a month, falling to about $250 within two years ^[1]. But Wegovy comes in five doses and Zepbound in six, with the greatest weight loss typically seen at the highest doses, and administration officials did not say what higher doses would cost ^[1]. Lilly said Zepbound's lowest dose would be $299 a month, with higher doses priced up to $449 ^[1]. Novo Nordisk did not specify dose-by-dose pricing, saying only that it plans to publish updated costs