Interesting article about how GLP-1RAs will likely become even more prevalent with the pill form reaching markets. 

Maybe the most interesting tidbit is the reference to a university of Chicago study claiming:

“**When the math doesn’t add up**

*But those benefits come at a price: roughly $700-800 per month in the U.S. Even accounting for long-term health gains, the researchers found that GLP-1 drugs fall well short of standard benchmarks for cost-effectiveness.*

*“We modeled an optimistic scenario using the best possible weight loss outcomes and long-term risk reductions,” said first author Jennifer Hwang, DO, a primary care physician at UChicago Medicine. “Even then, the drugs didn’t meet the cost-effectiveness threshold.”*

*That threshold is typically defined as less than $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) — a standard tool health economists use to compare the value of medical treatments. According to the study, tirzepatide would need a 30% price reduction to meet that mark, and semaglutide would need to cost 80% less than it currently does*. 

“

I was not aware of that study and am a bit surprised. However, even today EliLilly offers their LillyDirect program with costs of $449 so meeting the 30% target. 

https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/research-and-discoveries-articles/2025/june/glp-1-drug-pricing-analysis

Guardian: Weight-loss race: how switch from injections to pills is expanding big pharma’s hopes