Costco Is Hawking Ozempic, Wegovy at Pharmacies

Costco is getting in on the surging popularity of weight-loss drugs. The warehouse chain is bringing the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy to its pharmacies in the US, reports the New York Times. Members with a prescription can purchase a four-week supply of either drug for $499—roughly half the list price of Ozempic and about two-thirds less for Wegovy. Members who have insurance—and whose plans cover the drugs, which is not always the case—can expect to pay less through those plans.

"Those patients that have coverage will receive the medicine on average for $25 a month," David Moore, president of Novo Nordisk US, tells NBC News. "But that doesn't cover everyone, so we wanted to make sure there's a self-pay option available as well." Though it's a discount, the $499 price might still be out of reach for many. "This will definitely improve one of the issues with access," endocrinologist Rekha Kumar tells NBC, but it won't "solve the issues of insurance coverage and cost."

Novo Nordisk offers the same $499 price point for Ozempic and Wegovy through its own website, CVS, and Walmart. The Costco deal, however, could dramatically increase access because the stores see 100 million annual visitors per year. Costco is the world's third-largest retailer, behind only Walmart and Amazon. Analysts project that GLP-1 usage in the US could reach 24 million by 2035.