(Bloomberg) -- CVS Health Corp.’s chief medical officer said the cost of buzzy new medicines for weight loss and diabetes has gotten out of control.

“The prices are $1,000 a month,” Sree Chaguturu said Wednesday at the Wall Street Journal Health Forum in Boston. “It’s egregious pricing that’s outside of the needs of normal, regular, everyday Americans.”

Ozempic, Zepbound and other drugs known as GLP-1s are generating billions of dollars in revenue for their manufacturers, Novo Nordisk A/S and Eli Lilly & Co. But their skyrocketing popularity is also contributing to increased pharmacy costs, CVS executives warned in December.  

Last month Lilly launched a new service to sell weight-loss drugs directly to the public. Some telehealth companies are also offering cheaper, compounded versions of GLP-1s that are shipped directly to patients’ homes. But most people who want the drugs are getting them through their regular pharmacy, Chaguturu said.

Last year, CVS CEO Karen Lynch said GLP-1s come with a “very hefty price tag” and that understanding that cost is a top priority for the company.

--With assistance from Madison Muller.

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