LONDON: Eli Lilly & Co (LLY.N) said on Thursday it will raise the list price of its diabetes drug Mounjaro in the United Kingdom starting Sept. 1, as former U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on pharmaceutical companies to lower domestic drug prices and offset costs abroad.
The U.S. drugmaker said it reached an agreement with the UK government to increase the price of the weekly injection while maintaining access for patients under the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS confirmed the price hike would not affect commissioning of tirzepatide—the active ingredient in Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound—for eligible patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes.
Mounjaro’s current UK list price ranges from £92 to £122 per month, depending on dosage. The new pricing will rise to between £133 and £330, Eli Lilly said. The company added that it is working with other governments to adjust prices in developed markets, aligning with its support for the Trump administration’s goal of rebalancing global pharmaceutical costs.
“This rebalancing may be difficult,” Eli Lilly said in a statement, “but it means the 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 move follows Trump’s July letters to 17 drugmakers urging price cuts by Sept. 29, and builds on his May executive order reviving the “most favored nation” policy, which ties U.S. drug prices to lower international benchmarks.
Eli Lilly said it opposes proposed tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals, warning they would raise costs, restrict access, and undermine U.S. leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation. The company is among several to announce new investments in domestic manufacturing in recent months.
In the U.S., Mounjaro’s list price stands at $1,079.77 per month before insurance and rebates.