Discontinuation of Bydureon BCise and Byetta

Drug manufacturer AstraZeneca (AZ) recently notified the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that it discontinued Bydureon BCise and Byetta. Bydureon BCise was discontinued on Oct. 28, 2024, and Byetta was discontinued on Oct. 25, 2024.

What this means for you

We’ve identified preferred covered alternatives to help ensure your patients with UnitedHealthcare benefit plans continue to have access to a covered glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) receptor agonist product to treat diabetes. The following table outlines the preferred covered alternatives:

Preferred alternatives

UnitedHealthcare plan	Preferred covered GLP-1’s
UnitedHealthcare commercial plans	Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus, Trulicity and liraglutide (Victoza authorized generic)
UnitedHealthcare Individual Exchange plans, also referred to as UnitedHealthcare Individual and Family ACA Marketplace plans	Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus and Trulicity
UnitedHealthcare Community Plans	View state-specific drug lists for preferred covered GLP-1’s
Individual and Group UnitedHealthcare^® Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Part D plans	View member plan specific coverage through PreCheck MyScript®¹

You can also view covered alternatives by using PreCheck MyScript through most electronic medical records’ real-time benefit check functionality or the UnitedHealthcare Provider Portal.