Tom Little/Reuters/File
Novo Nordisk said it is committed to working with policymakers on ways to support access and affordability.
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Senator Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the high prices of blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Vegovy.
The Vermont senator, an independent who has long called out drug manufacturers for their expensive products, is launching an investigation into Novo Nordisk's “outrageously high prices” for drugs.
“Novo Nordisk scientists deserve great credit for developing these medicines, which have the potential to be game-changers for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity. “As important as these drugs are, they will do no good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them,” Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote in a letter to drugmaker CEOs on Wednesday. ” “Furthermore, if the prices of these products are not reduced substantially, they also have the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and our entire health care system.”
Sanders is asking Novo Nordisk to answer whether it would “significantly lower” the prices of the drugs, as well as information about how much it makes from selling the drugs, how much it spends on research and development. and how he set the prices.
Ozempic is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes and Vegovi to help some people lose weight or reduce their risk of heart disease. Both are injectable medications that use the active ingredient semaglutide, which is one of a class of medications called GLP-1 receptor agonists.
Novo Nordisk raised the list price for Ozempic by 3.5% this year to $969 for a four-week supply, but kept Wegovi's price unchanged at $1,349. The drugmaker told CNN in February that it raises the list prices of some drugs every year based on changes in the health care system, inflation and market conditions.
Sanders' letter said researchers at Yale University recently found that these drugs “can be manufactured profitably at a cost of less than $5 per month.” Additionally, Ozempic costs only $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany, while Wegovi can be purchased for $140 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom, the senator pointed out.
Novo Nordisk agrees with Sanders that access to medicines is important for patients, the company said in a statement. It said it is committed to working with policymakers on ways to support access and affordability.
“It is easier to oversimplify the science that goes into understanding disease and developing and producing new treatments, as well as the complexities of the US and global health care systems,” Novo Nordisk said. “However, public debate does not always take into account this extremely complex reality.”
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For most Americans, the price they pay for drugs depends on their health insurance policies, not on drug manufacturers' list prices. However, if they are uninsured or have not yet met their annual deductible, they may have to pay list price. Additionally, many drug manufacturers, including Novo Nordisk, offer savings cards and patient assistance programs that may reduce out-of-pocket costs for some people.
Ozempic is also proving costly for the federal government, while the recent approval of Vegovi to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes is expected to add to that.
Medicare is not allowed by law to cover drugs for weight loss, but it will cover Ozempic for people with diabetes and Vegovy for people with heart disease who are overweight or obese. According to KFF, it expects to spend $4.6 billion on Ozempic in 2022, compared with $2.6 billion a year earlier.
Another KFF analysis found that Wegovi could cost Medicare about $3 billion per year. None of the analyzes took into account exemptions, information about which is not publicly available.
Increased spending on these drugs will likely contribute to higher Part D premiums for all beneficiaries.
CNN's Meg Tirrell contributed to this report.
