Big pharma move to dispense GLP-1s to your door condemned by doctors

The new Eli Lilly platform negates the need for patients to go into a physical pharmacy. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

Eli Lilly's new online platform LillyDirect will dispense certain medicines, starting with Mounjaro, directly to a patient's door.

Doctors and pharmacists have criticised the move, arguing it poses a risk to patient safety.

Eli Lilly has defended the online platform, saying it does not circumvent pharmacists or GPs, and will improve affordability and convenience for patients.

A move by a multi-billion-dollar global pharmaceutical company to bypass bricks and mortar pharmacies and deliver its GLP-1 medication Mounjaro directly to consumers' doors has been broadly condemned by doctors and pharmacists, who argue it poses a risk to patient safety.

Eli Lilly has announced its new online platform LillyDirect will dispense certain medicines, starting with tirzepatide, an injectable GLP-1 agonist sold as Mounjaro, which is used to treat conditions like type 2 diabetes and obesity.

Under the model, patients submit an e-script to LillyDirect from their doctor.

The script is then directed to an online third-party pharmacist to dispense, before it is delivered to the patient's home.

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