VIVUS, Inc. (VVUS): You’ve Got To Spend Money To Make Money

It costs what? There are probably some patients not taking the drug simply because of the cost. Only one third of patients with insurance have coverage for Qsymia, and many of those are at the Tier 3 level, where copays are higher, typically $50 to $100. VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) is shooting for having 50% coverage of people on private insurance by end of the year, which should help with sticker shock, as have the free trials and discount drugs for those not covered by insurance.

Not for sale (here). When Qsymia launched last year, the Food and Drug Administration limited its sales to mail-order pharmacies. While it’s arguably more convenient to get drugs delivered to your doorstep, ordering through a mail-order pharmacy requires more initial effort than purchasing drugs at a local pharmacy. Fortunately last month, the FDA told VIVUS, Inc. (NASDAQ:VVUS) it could start selling Qsymia in retail pharmacies, which will begin by mid-July.

VIVUS has spent lots of money jumping over hurdles to make the drug more appealing to patients. And it plans to spend more launching a direct-to-consumer print and digital media campaign. With any luck, VIVUS will be able to find a partner to help pay for the investment. It certainly isn’t cheap, and there aren’t any guarantees of making it back.

The article Obesity Drug Demand Still Low originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Brian Orelli.

Fool contributor Brian Orelli and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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