Actions of Eli Lilly and Nordisk fell on Friday, after President Donald Trump said his administration aims to reduce the cost of brand-name GLP-1 weight-loss drugs to $150 a month, a fraction of their current list price.
“In London, you would buy a certain drug for $130 and even less than that… $88 as of… a month ago. And in New York, you pay $1,300 for the same thing,” Trump said during a Thursday afternoon event on in vitro fertilization at the White House. “Instead of $1,300, you'll pay about $150 and they'll pay $150, so we'll pay the same.”
When a reporter asked what medication he was referring to, Trump responded: “I meant Ozempic or… the fat loss drug.”
At that point, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, weighed in and emphasized that the administration has not yet agreed to GLP-1 price reductions with drugmakers.
“We haven't negotiated them yet… We will implement them over time, the LPG drug category, which includes Ozempic, has not been negotiated yet,” Oz said.
Just a week ago, Oz had said the administration was “in the middle of a lot of action” with pricing discussions with weight-loss drug makers.
Eli Lilly shares closed down 2% on Friday, while Novo Nordisk shares fell 3% in U.S. trading. Meanwhile, the actions of Health for him and her – which sells much cheaper LPG-1 compounds – plummeted more than 15%.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were among 17 of the largest U.S. pharmaceutical companies that received letters from the Trump administration following the president's executive order on so-called most favored nation pricing, demanding the companies align U.S. drug prices with those of other developed nations.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca They have signed the president's initiative, reaching agreements on drug prices with the administration. But Trump and Oz's comments make clear that the administration is trying to get weight-loss drug makers on board.
The $150 GLP-1 would be cheaper than the compounds
While demand for weight loss medications has increased, price remains a barrier for consumers and employers.
According to a new Kaiser Family Foundation survey, only one in five large employers currently offer GLP-1 for weight loss. Of those who do, two-thirds say high-cost drugs have had a “significant” impact on their prescription drug spending.
Workers who do not obtain coverage through health insurance have increasingly turned to the cash market to purchase medications on their own.
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk sell discounted versions of their diabetes and weight loss medications on their direct-to-consumer sites for about $500 a month. Telehealth providers like Hims & Hers offer compounded versions of GLP-1 for less than half that price, between $130 and $200 a month.
If management could reduce the cash price of popular weight-loss drugs like Lilly's Zepbound and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy to $150, that would be competitive with compounded options and could have a major impact on the current cash market.
