Mangoceuticals partners with Lilly, Novo Nordisk to sell weight-loss drugs

(Reuters) -Telehealth company Mangoceuticals said on Thursday it has partnered with Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk to sell the drugmakers’ blockbuster weight-loss drugs to self-paying patients.

Shares of Mangoceuticals surged 28% to $2.25 in premarket trading.

U.S. regulations allow compounding pharmacies to copy brand-name medicines that are in short supply. When Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo’s Wegovy were in shortage in the U.S. for much of last year, several telehealth companies had sold cheaper copies of these treatments.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had since removed the branded drugs from the shortage list.

Last year, Lilly had filed a lawsuit against Mangoceuticals for selling products claiming to contain tirzepatide, the main ingredient in its weight-loss drug Zepbound, after which the telehealth company said it was evaluating strategic alternatives.

Mangoceuticals’ partnership with Lilly and Novo allows the telehealth company to keep selling Zepbound and Wegovy.

The telehealth company said Thursday’s partnership announcement comes in conjunction with the recent White House deal to cut prices of weight-loss drugs.

The drug prices are expected to reduce between $149 and $350 on average a month. Current costs range from $500 through direct sales to a retail price of $1,000 per month.

Mangoceuticals said Novo and Lilly’s branded GLP-1 medications will be made available to its MangoRx Direct and PeachesRx Direct customers through LillyDirect and NovoCare Pharmacy.

Lilly was first to sell Zepbound directly to U.S. consumers via its LillyDirect platform, followed by Novo’s NovoCare for Wegovy. The U.S. government’s TrumpRx.gov site, launching in early 2026, will also offer these drugs at reduced prices under the new deal.

Both drugmakers have partnered with multiple telehealth platforms to sell their weight-loss drugs, though Novo’s collaboration with Hims & Hers Health ended in June over concerns about compounding and promotional practices.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo and Krishna Chandra Eluri)