Does Zepbound need to be refrigerated?

Zepbound (tirzepatide) is a medication approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for chronic weight management in people with overweight or obesity. Like Mounjaro, it is a once-weekly injection that comes in pre-filled pens as well as single-dose vials that need to be refrigerated. We spoke with Felix Gussone, MD, about how to store your Zepbound medication. 

Yes, you should keep Zepbound in the refrigerator. According to the manufacturer, Eli Lilly, Zepbound pens and vials should be stored in a cool dark place, between 36-46° Fahrenheit (2-8° Celsius). Zepbound can be stored at room temperature, meaning unrefrigerated, for up to 21 days, but should never be exposed to temperatures above 86° Fahrenheit (30° Celsius). If you’re traveling, you can take your medication with you, and it can remain unrefrigerated and at room temperature for up to three weeks. Zepbound pens and vials should never be frozen. 

If you store the medication at room temperature, do not return it to the refrigerator, and discard it if you don’t use it within 21 days after taking it out of the fridge. When the medication spends too long out of the refrigerator, the active ingredient can start to break down, making the medication less effective. 

When you take a Zepbound pen or vial out of the refrigerator to inject it, it is unnecessary to warm it to room temperature. You can inject the medication into your abdomen, upper arm, or thigh.

At the time of publication, all doses of Zepbound are currently available and not in shortage, according to the Drug Shortages website managed by the FDA. That said, just because Zepbound is not in short supply doesn’t mean the medication is easy to come by.

Unfortunately, you may still have difficulty filling your prescription at your local pharmacy because supply can vary among locations. This is especially true for refrigerated medications and drugs with multiple dose strengths “due to factors like ordering practices and incentives, cold chain logistical considerations, and retailer capacity constraints,” according to the FDA. Point being: Regardless of whether a drug is in shortage, local variability in supply could cause delays in filling your Rx at your nearby pharmacy. 

The good news? There are a variety of strategies to employ if you’re struggling to find Zepbound in stock near you. One such tactic is to go online or, more specifically, to online pharmacies, as they may have the medication in stock and may even offer home delivery. Speaking of which, you can also get Zepbound delivered right to your door through other virtual programs, such as LillyDirect, a self-pay pharmacy from Eli Lilly, or Ro. Through its unique integration with LillyDirect, Ro patients who are prescribed Zepbound single-dose vials can now get them seamlessly delivered from a single destination (vs., say, having to sign up for both Ro and LillyDirect). 

As mentioned above, Zepbound is currently available. And this is true of the single-dose vials and the pens. That being said, to get a better idea of Zepbound’s availability, you can search for “tirzepatide” on the FDA’s Drug Shortages website. You can also sign up for supply update emails on the LillyDirect website as well as through Ro’s GLP-1 Supply Tracker, a free tool that allows you to report shortages to the FDA, track which drugs are currently in short supply (according to the FDA and community reports), as well as receive updates when supply becomes available nearby.

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How we reviewed this article

Every article on Health Guide goes through rigorous fact-checking by our team of medical reviewers. Our reviewers are trained medical professionals who ensure each article contains the most up-to-date information, and that medical details have been correctly interpreted by the writer.

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Current version

November 15, 2023

Written by

Felix Gussone, MD

Fact checked by

Yael Cooperman, MD

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About the medical reviewer

Yael Cooperman, MD, Ro

Yael Cooperman is a physician and works as a Senior Manager, Medical Content & Education at Ro.