Amazon enters the Wegovy race - and the distribution battle heats up

This week, a small pill made a big move in the U.S. market.

Novo Nordisk has launched an oral version of Wegovy in the United States, and Amazon Pharmacy is now selling it.

On its face, it’s a new way to fill a prescription. In market terms, it’s a major player stepping deeper into one of healthcare’s most fought-over growth lanes: GLP-1 drugs for obesity and diabetes, dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.

And when a flagship product lands inside a booming market, the story quickly becomes who controls access, pricing, and distribution.

What exactly is happening?

Novo Nordisk’s new Wegovy pill is a daily oral GLP-1 treatment for obesity. It uses semaglutide, the same active ingredient as injectable Wegovy and Ozempic, but in tablet form.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the pill in December, and Novo Nordisk began rolling it out in the U.S. earlier this week. On Friday, Amazon Pharmacy said it now offers the Wegovy pill through its digital pharmacy service.

For U.S. customers, what you pay depends on coverage. Eligible customers with commercial insurance may pay as little as 25 dollars for a one-month supply. If you’re paying cash, prices start at about 149 dollars per month for a one-month supply, according to Amazon.

Novo Nordisk has also said it is offering doses of 1.5 milligrams and 4 milligrams of the once-daily pill at 149 dollars per month for self-paying U.S. patients. In the coming weeks, Amazon said the pill will also be available through its prescription kiosks.

One quick note for global investors: this is a U.S. rollout. The rules and prices won’t copy-paste to other countries, but the investing lesson is whoever controls distribution can shape the whole GLP-1 race.

Why Amazon cares: healthcare as a long-term bet

This is Amazon tightening its grip on a part of healthcare where convenience and distribution can translate into recurring demand.

Amazon Pharmacy launched in 2020, following Amazon’s acquisition of PillPack in 2018. In 2022, Amazon bought One Medical, a primary-care clinic business. Together, they form Amazon’s broader push into the U.S. healthcare market, connecting digital pharmacy, clinic access and distribution.

Wegovy is a high-profile product in a category already drawing huge demand. Having it on-platform makes Amazon a more relevant pharmacy destination in the U.S., right as GLP-1 access is expanding. Amazon says customers can compare insurance and cash prices side-by-side online, with applicable coupons automatically applied at checkout. It also says it offers same-day prescription delivery to nearly half of U.S. consumers.

Amazon is also trying to widen the pipeline. It said it’s collaborating with telehealth firms including WeightWatchers, Wheel and 9amHealth to help expand access to the treatment. In investor terms, that’s the point of these partnerships: they help Amazon sit earlier in the journey, not just at the checkout.

Why Novo Nordisk (and GLP-1s) are in focus

The pill format matters because it can pull in new customers, especially people who avoided injections, and that can widen the market.

Injectable GLP-1 drugs have long dominated this “booming” obesity and diabetes drug space, led by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. Health experts cited in CNBC said oral options could expand access in the U.S., including reaching people who were afraid of needles or felt injections were too “serious” to start.

Novo Nordisk is also aiming directly at cash-pay demand. Reuters notes the pill’s success will be tied to attracting consumers who can’t get insurance coverage, which is a meaningful shift from the usual model where pricing is managed through insurance plans.

For investors, that’s the point: it’s a bid to expand the paying customer base by lowering the friction to start.

And Novo isn’t relying on one channel like Amazon to get there. The pill is also available through CVS and Costco, and via telehealth providers including Ro, LifeMD, WeightWatchers, GoodRx and Novo’s NovoCare Pharmacy.

Cash-paying patients will also be able to access the starting dose for 149 dollars per month on President Donald Trump’s direct-to-consumer site, TrumpRx, under a deal Novo struck with his administration, with the site slated to launch in January (timing unclear).

Competition is coming, too. Eli Lilly has a rival obesity pill that is slated for FDA approval later this year.

What this means for investors

So what should you take from this, as an investor?

• Distribution is the power move. The drug matters, but so does who gets it to customers quickly and at the best price.
• Pricing tells you where the fight is heading. A lower starting cash price can pull in more buyers, and it can push the whole market to adjust.
• Partnerships aren’t just marketing. They decide who owns the customer journey, from evaluation to prescription to delivery.
• Risks still matter. Coverage gaps, regulation, and new competitors can all change the story quickly.

Zoom out, and this isn’t just about a new pill: It’s about who gets to be the easiest place to access one of the hottest drug categories in healthcare. Novo wants the pill in as many channels as possible. Amazon wants to be a go-to gateway. And rivals like CVS, Costco and telehealth platforms don’t want to lose that traffic.

That’s where money, power and competition are moving next in healthcare. And that’s the part investors should be watching.

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