Lilly reportedly ending CVS drug plan for employees after Novo deal for Wegovy

[Eli Lilly and Company Headquarters]
wellesenterprises

Eli Lilly (LLY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LLY]) is exiting CVS Health’s (CVS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CVS]) drug benefit plan for its employees after the managed care giant decided to limit access to the company’s popular weight loss drug, Zepbound, in favor of Novo Nordisk’s (NVO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVO]) rival drug, Wegovy, earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported.

According to a document viewed by the publication, employees under Lilly’s (LLY [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/LLY]) medical plan will be automatically switched to a pharmacy benefit coverage offered through Rightway, a privately held pharmacy benefit manager, effective Jan. 1.

About 50,000 employees work for the Indianapolis-based pharma giant whose growth prospects are highly dependent on its weight-loss drug franchise led by GLP-1 drugs Zepbound and Mounjaro, which compete with Novo’s (NVO [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/NVO]) Wegovy and Ozempic.

An LLY spokesperson said that the company regularly reviews [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-12/lilly-drops-cvs-drug-plan-for-workers-after-novo-obesity-deal?embedded-checkout=true] its benefit service providers to guarantee it offers a high-quality, cost-effective coverage.

“Rightway shares our passion for innovation and exceptional care for people while offering competitive fees and services aligned with the best interests of our employees, retirees, and their families,” the spokesperson added.

CVS’s (CVS [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CVS]) PBM unit, Caremark, chose Wegovy as its preferred GLP-1 medicine on its standard commercial formularies from July 1 and excluded LLY’s Zepbound in health plans using the company’s standard drug list [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4439028-cvs-health-favors-novos-wegovy-blow-lilly].

“Our move earlier this year to negotiate Lilly and Novo against one another drove significant savings for our clients,” CVS spokesman David Whitrap said. The company added it wouldn’t comment on specific client decisions, but its overall retention rate stands in the 90% range.

The pharmacy operator said that while it has medical plans with access to both Zepbound and Wegovy, that option is more expensive for plan sponsors than its standard offering, which excludes Zepbound.

LLY CEO Dave Ricks appeared to comment on the decision in an interview on Tuesday. “We actually ourselves just moved our PBM from a traditional one to a sort of new tech, fintech-y PBM.” He said on the Cheeky Pint podcast, which aired on Tuesday.

“We’re excited to partner with the Lilly benefits team to enable their innovative and best-in-class benefits for employees, retirees, and families,” added a spokesperson for Rightway, a New York-based PBM startup.

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