Tomorrow, I will ask the CEO of Novo Nordisk, Mr. Lars Jørgensen:
Why are you charging the American people up to 10 or 15 times more for the same exact product than you're charging people in Canada and Europe? pic.twitter.com/DKaUiQSaM3
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 23, 2024
Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, will testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday at 10 a.m. ET in Washington, D.C. The hearing will focus on the high prices of the company’s weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic in the United States compared to other countries. Senator Bernie Sanders, who chairs the Senate panel, started an investigation into the Danish drugmaker’s pricing practices about five months ago. He argues that Novo Nordisk charges Americans much higher prices for its injections than it does for patients in other countries.
In the U.S., Ozempic costs nearly $1,000 and Wegovy costs almost $1,350 before insurance. In some European countries, both treatments can cost less than $100 for a month’s supply. For example, Ozempic costs $59 in Germany, and Wegovy costs $92 in the U.K.
Generic drug companies can sell Ozempic — at a profit— for less than $100.
But Americans are paying almost $1,000 a month for the drug.
So why does your prescription cost more than a luxury handbag?
Corporate greed.
Novo Nordisk must lower the price of Ozempic. pic.twitter.com/oCROGpVxtU
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 23, 2024
#Ozempic & #Wegovy have sold nearly $50B as of Q2
On track to make $65B by the end of 2024
After adjusting for inflation, that would eclipse the $68B that Novo will have spent on all R & D since the mid-1990s 😳
Best selling medication over 1 year https://t.co/wl9pMNk8Wl
— Susan Li (@SusanLiTV) September 23, 2024
Sanders also said last week that the CEOs of major generic pharmaceutical companies told him they could sell a version of Ozempic for $25 at a profit.
Novo Nordisk drug pricing scrutiny
However, there are currently no generic alternatives to Ozempic available in the U.S.
The Senate Health Committee stated that if half of all Americans took weight loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, it would cost the U.S. $411 billion per year. This figure is $5 billion more than what Americans spent on all prescription drugs in 2022.
The hearing is part of the Biden administration and lawmakers’ efforts to lower health-care costs in the U.S. by pressuring the pharmaceutical industry and drug supply chain middlemen. On average, Americans pay two to three times more for prescription drugs than patients in other developed nations, according to a White House report. Ozempic will likely be subject to the first round of price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare, a key provision of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act aimed at lowering costs for seniors.
Wall Street analysts say Ozempic will likely be eligible for negotiations by the time the next round of drugs is selected in 2025, with price changes going into effect in 2027.
