By Elsa Ohlen

When something happens with one of the reigning weight-loss drug leaders, it typically affects the other as well. So when Eli Lilly said Thursday it would hike prices of its widely popular appetite-suppressing drug in the U.K., the immediate question is: What does it mean for Novo Nordisk?

The pricing of weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Lilly's Zepbound and Mounjaro, and Novo's Wegovy and Ozempic, is a pressure point for investors. Price erosion is a major worry amid increasing competition -- including from knockoff versions of the drugs provided by telehealth pharmacies and coming patent expirations.

Lilly said it had agreed with the U.K. government to increase the list price for a month's supply of the highest dose by 170%, while the price for lower doses will increase by between 96% and 138%. It's possible that that sort of price increase could push consumers toward Novo's offerings instead.

Novo said: "We currently have no plans of changing our offering in the U.K.," clarifying that it included the price of the offering.

The price increase for Lilly's drug in the U.K. "carries a positive political price tone as well as pricing for the GLP-1 class," said Deutsche Bank analyst James Shin. A rising price tide may help lift all GLP-1 boats, including Lilly's experimental weight-loss pill orforglipron and Novo Nordisk's rival medicines, Shin added.

Novo's American depositary receipts were up 2% to $51.95 in recent Friday trading, while Lilly shares rose 1.1% to $690.26.

It isn't clear what price hikes would mean in terms of volumes sold, as consumers who are paying out-of-pocket might not be willing to pay a higher price. It isn't clear how important the U.K. market is for Lilly's and Novo's total sales -- or how much of that is paid by consumers versus by national healthcare systems. Novo declined to comment, and Lilly didn't immediately respond to a request to comment.

The move comes as President Donald Trump has made prescription drug prices a high-profile issue for his presidency. He has repeatedly said that drug prices for Americans must come down. Trump has suggested most-favored-nation drug pricing, which would mean Americans pay the same price for a drug as the lowest price paid by another wealthy country.

Lilly said: "Prices for medicines paid by governments and health systems need to increase in other developed markets like Europe in order to make them lower in the U.S." The company is working with "certain governments" to make further pricing adjustments, it said.

Whether that means that prices for Lilly's drugs will come down in the U.S. remains to be seen.

Bank of America analyst Tim Anderson says it's unlikely.

"[Direct-to-consumer sales] is a bit of a PR move; it's a way for the drug industry, and Trump alike, to take out 'the middleman' (e.g. PBMs) -- a foe that both claim to loathe -- by offering drugs at a lower price."

However, that lower price will likely only mirror the price offered to big commercial payers already -- meaning that selling drugs directly to consumers likely isn't costing companies much, Anderson adds.

Write to Elsa Ohlen at elsa.ohlen@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 15, 2025 12:25 ET (16:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.