Novo NordiskTop executives faced a Senate grilling on Tuesday over the high prices of the company’s weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic, as demand for the injection surged in the US.
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen testified at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET Friday in Washington, D.C. It comes roughly five months after Sen. who chaired the Senate panel, opened an investigation into Denmark’s drug pricing practices.
Sanders contends that Novo Nordisk is charging Americans higher prices for blockbuster drugs than patients in other countries. Before insurance, Ozempic costs nearly $969 per month and Wegovy nearly $1,350 per month in the US
Meanwhile, the two treatments can cost less than $100 for a month’s supply in some European countries, according to a release from the committee. Ozempic is only $59 in Germany, while Wegovy is $92 in the UK
Sanders also said last week that the CEO of a major generic pharmaceutical company had told him he could sell a version of Ozempic for less than $100 a month at a profit. There are currently no generic alternatives to Ozempic available in the US
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, said during an interview in New York on August 10, 2022.
Christopher Goodney | Bloomberg Getty Images
Sanders and other lawmakers, health and insurance experts have warned that demand for Novo Nordisk’s drug and similar weight-loss and diabetes treatments is coming from rivals. Eli Lily could potentially bankrupt the US health care system unless prices come down.
Both drug makers make GLP-1, which mimics a hormone produced in the gut to suppress appetite and regulate blood sugar. Eli Lilly’s weight-loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro also cost about $1,000 a month before insurance and other rebates.
In a release, the Senate Health Committee said it would cost US$411 billion a year if half of all Americans took weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. That’s $5 billion more than what Americans will spend on all prescription drugs in 2022.
Medicare is spending $4.6 billion on Ozempic by 2022, according to the health policy research organization KFF.
Insurance companies and other employers have imposed strict requirements to control the cost of weight-loss drugs, or eliminate the treatment altogether. Many health plans cover GLP-1 for diabetes, but not for weight loss. The federal Medicare program does not pay for weight loss treatments unless they are approved and prescribed for other health conditions.
The hearing comes as the Biden administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are trying to lower U.S. health care costs, in part through pressure. pharmaceutical industry and drug supply chain intermediaries. On average, Americans pay two to three times more than patients in other developed countries for prescription drugs, according to a fact sheet from the White House.
In particular, Ozempic will be subject to future price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare – a key provision of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act aimed at reducing costs for seniors. Wall Street analysts say that Ozempic will be eligible for negotiations when the next round of drugs is selected in 2025, for a price change that will take effect in 2027.
