Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, speaks during an interview in New York on August 10, 2022.
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New NordiskThe company's chief executive is scheduled to face questioning in the Senate on Tuesday over high prices for the weight-loss drug Wegovy and the diabetes treatment Ozempic, as demand for both shots soars in the United States.
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen is set to testify at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing at 10 a.m. Eastern time Tuesday in Washington, D.C. This comes about five months after Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who chairs the Senate panel, opened an investigation into the Danish drugmaker’s pricing practices.
Sanders argues that Novo Nordisk charges Americans substantially higher prices for its blockbuster drugs than it does patients in other countries. Before insurance, Ozempic costs nearly $969 a month and Wegovy costs nearly $1,350 a month in the United States.
Meanwhile, both treatments can cost as little as less than $100 for a month's supply in some European countries, the committee said in a statement. Ozempic costs just $59 in Germany, while Wegovy costs $92 in the UK.
Sanders also said last week that CEOs of major generic drug companies have told him they 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 U.S.
Slimming syringes of the brands “Wegovy”, “Ozempic” and “Mounjaro” are sold at In der Achat Apotheke in Mitte, Germany.
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Sanders and other lawmakers, health experts and insurers have warned that insatiable demand for Novo Nordisk's drugs and similar weight-loss and diabetes treatments from rivals Eli Lilly It could potentially bankrupt the US healthcare system unless prices come down.
Both companies make GLP-1, which mimics hormones produced in the gut to reduce appetite and regulate blood sugar. Eli Lilly's weight-loss injection Zepbound and diabetes drug Mounjaro similarly cost about $1,000 a month before insurance and other reimbursements.
In a statement, the Senate Health Committee said it would cost the U.S. $411 billion per year if half of all Americans took weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly. That's $5 billion more than Americans spent on all prescription drugs in 2022.
In 2022 alone, Medicare spent $4.6 billion on Ozempic, according to health policy research organization KFF.
Other insurers and employers have implemented strict requirements to control the costs of weight-loss drugs, or have eliminated coverage for these treatments altogether. Many health plans cover GLP-1s 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 another health condition.
The hearing comes as the Biden administration and lawmakers from both parties try to rein in health care costs in the U.S., in part by pushing The pharmaceutical industry and drug supply chain middlemen. On average, Americans pay two to three times more than patients in other developed countries for prescription drugs, according to a White House fact sheet.
Notably, Ozempic will likely be subject to the next round of price negotiations between manufacturers and Medicare, a key provision of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that aims to lower costs for seniors. Wall Street analysts say Ozempic will likely be eligible for negotiations when the next round of drugs is selected in 2025, for price changes that take effect in 2027.
