The antidiabetic drug “Ozempic” (semaglutide) from the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.
Joel Saget | AFP | Getty Images
The US Senate has launched an investigation into the high price Novo NordiskPopular weight loss and diabetes medications, Ozempic and Wegovy, are available in the United States.
The investigation into the Danish drugmaker was announced by Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont Independent and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee.
“Novo Nordisk scientists deserve great credit for developing these medicines that have the potential to be a game-changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity,” Sanders said Wednesday in a letter to CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
“As important as these drugs are, they will do no good to the millions of patients who cannot afford them,” Sanders wrote.
Sanders also clearly laid out the dilemma facing American insurers, including the government, given the high cost of the potentially life-changing drugs. “If prices for these products are not significantly reduced, there is also the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid and our entire health care system,” he wrote.
Sanders noted that Novo Nordisk charges far less for the same drugs in other countries. The company “charges $969 for a month of Ozempic in the US, but only $155 in Canada and just $59 in Germany.”
Wegovy, which is even more expensive than Ozempic, is subject to similar pricing differences abroad, Sanders wrote. A study last month said Ozempic could be made for less than $5 a month.
The powerful progressive senator also made a simple request to the pharmaceutical company’s CEO: “Will Novo Nordisk significantly reduce both the list price and the net price of Ozempic and Wegovy?”
In his letter, Sanders asked Jørgensen how the price of the drugs is determined and how much the pharmaceutical company spends on research and development. He gave Novo Nordisk until May 8 to answer a series of questions about the drug’s pricing.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) gestures as he delivers remarks on reducing health care costs in the Indian Treaty Room of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in the White House complex in Washington, United States, on April 3, 2024.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Novo Nordisk declined to provide production costs to CNBC after the study was published, noting that the company spent $5 billion on research and development in 2023 and more than $6 billion this year will be spent to boost production of GLP-1.
In a statement to CNBC on Wednesday in response to the letter, Novo Nordisk said the company agreed with Sanders that access to the drugs is important, but emphasized the complexities of the healthcare industry.
“It is easy to oversimplify the science that contributes to understanding disease and developing and producing new treatments, as well as the intricacies of U.S. and global health systems. “However, the public debate does not always take into account this extremely complex reality,” the company said.
Don’t miss these exclusives from CNBC PRO
Source link
2024-04-24 20:18:33
www.cnbc.com