Navigating a Trulicity shortage: Tips and alternatives

While many of the GLP-1s are pretty new to the market — like Foundayo (FDA approved in 2026), Zepbound (FDA approved in 2023), and Wegovy (FDA approved in 2021) — Trulicity has been around for over a decade. As the newer GLP-1 medications became more popular due to their impact on weight, demand for all GLP-1s began rising — including those approved to treat type 2 diabetes like Trulicity. If a Trulicity shortage threatens to derail your progress on your GLP-1 program, here’s how working with your healthcare provider and pharmacist can help you get access to your medication.

There is not currently a Trulicity shortage, according to the FDA’s drug shortage registry. While this is true at the time of publication, things can change—visit the FDA tracker for the latest shortage information.

For one, its manufacturer, Eli Lilly, had been changing its focus away from manufacturing Trulicity and towards making newer GLP-1 medications like Zepbound and Mounjaro.

There may have also been a ripple effect from previous shortages of other GLP-1 medications, according to Erin Fox, PharmD, the associate chief pharmacy officer at University of Utah Health. “Patients who might have had trouble getting Mounjaro and some of the other, more popular products for type 2 diabetes might have been trying to access Trulicity instead,” she says.

A shortage in Trulicity “is inconvenient and leads to breaks in care,” says Dr. Sarah Fishman, M.D., a board-certified endocrinologist at Premier Endocrine in New York, NY.

If you miss a weekly dose of Trulicity, you may begin losing control over your blood sugar within the first week. As a result, you may experience worsening symptoms related to your diabetes until your blood sugar levels are regulated.

First, talk to your pharmacist to see if they have a backorder list (which serves as a wait list) so you can be notified if and when supply arrives. Also ask if they can look and see if any other locations have supply.

In the meantime, “patients can try to call around to see if other pharmacies have it,” says Candis Morello, PharmD, a professor of clinical pharmacy at UC San Diego. There are a handful of distributors that send medications to various pharmacies, so the big pharmacy chain up the block could have a different supply than a small community pharmacy. This is where being a member of Weight Watchers Med+ can come in handy. Your Care Team can call around on your behalf to see if they can find your medication for you.

If you can’t find it in stock and you're a Weight Watchers Med+ member, you can work with your clinician to implement strategies to stay on track with your health goals, and the Weight Watchers GLP-1 Success program can help you keep up with your nutrition and lifestyle habits.

When experiencing a Trulicity shortage, there are other GLP-1 medication options that can help manage your blood sugar. “I try to substitute one GLP-1 for another,” says Fishman. These include:

• Ozempic (semaglutide): Semaglutide is a GLP-1 agonist that’s administered via a weekly injection to manage blood sugar.
  

• Victoza (liraglutide): Another GLP-1 medication, this requires a daily injection to help control blood sugar.
  

• Mounjaro (tirzepatide): This weekly injection activates both GLP-1 and GIP receptors, making it highly effective for blood sugar control.
  
  

Make sure to talk to your provider about your options, so you can learn the pros and cons of each and determine the right alternatives for your individual needs.

Although newer GLP-1s like Ozempic have become more popular than Trulicity, the previous cascade of GLP-1 shortages led to a Trulicity backorders too. If you can’t find Trulicity at your pharmacy, try calling around to different locations or talking to your provider about how to handle your diabetes management in the meantime.