A box of Ozempic and its contents on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, Britain, on October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
Blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic could be made for less than $5 a month, even if Nordisk charges about $1,000 a month for the shot in the US before insurance, a study published Wednesday suggests.
The study, conducted by researchers at Yale University, King's College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, raises more questions about the high price of the best-selling diabetes treatment and similar weight-loss drugs. , which are part of a new class of treatments called GLP-1.
Demand for those drugs has skyrocketed over the past year, even as more insurers remove them from their plans due to cost, leaving some patients unable to afford them.
The study also comes after years of political pressure on Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers to reduce the high costs of diabetes care, especially insulin.
Ozempic can generally be produced for less money than several forms of insulin, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers found that a month's supply of the treatment could be manufactured for an estimated price of 89 cents to $4.73. They evaluated manufacturing costs for the weekly injection along with a profit margin with a tax deduction to produce those estimates, which they call “cost-based pricing.”
Novo Nordisk's list price for a monthly package of Ozempic is $935.77 before insurance and other rebates. The findings suggest that GLP-1s “can likely be manufactured at prices well below current prices, allowing for broader access,” the researchers concluded.
In a statement Wednesday, Novo Nordisk declined to provide production costs for Ozempic and its weight-loss drug counterpart, Wegovy. But the Danish drugmaker said it spent nearly $5 billion on research and development last year, and will spend more than $6 billion in a recent deal to boost manufacturing to meet demand for GLP-1.
It also said that 75% of its gross profits go toward rebates and discounts to ensure patients have access to its products.
The company also said that Ozempic's out-of-pocket costs depend on the patient's insurance coverage. Patients with private or commercial Ozempic coverage can access a savings card and pay as little as $25 for a one, two, or three-month supply of the treatment for up to 24 months.
Independent research from the University of Liverpool and other researchers has found that Wegovy could be produced for $40 a month.
A survey released this month by Evercore ISI found that more than half of people currently taking a GLP-1 said they are paying a monthly price of $50 or less out of pocket. Nearly 75% of respondents who used to take one of these medications said they spent the same amount.
