Lawmakers grilled the CEO of Novo Nordisk for more than two hours during a Senate Health Committee hearing focused on addressing the high cost Ozempic and Wegovy.
During the hearing, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders accused Novo Nordisk, the drug company producing Ozempic and Wegovy, of overcharging Americans for the medications used to treat diabetes and obesity.
“If not made affordable Americans throughout this country will needlessly die and suffer,” Sanders said.
In the U.S. Ozempic is priced at $969,16 times more expensive compared to Germany where the medication costs $59. Wegovy is priced at $1,349 compared to the United Kingdom where the drug is $92, nearly 15 times more expensive in the U.S.
Sanders and other members of the Senate pointedly scrutinized Lars Jorgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk.
“All we’re saying, Mr. Jorgensen, is treat the American people the same way you treat people all over the world — stop ripping us off,” Sanders said.
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Jorgensen defended the company and its prices. He said since Ozempic launched in 2018 the cost has dropped by 40%. He added that 99% of commercial insurance plans cover Ozempic, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Jorgensen also pointed out that Wegovy, which was approved in 2021, is covered by half of commercial insurance plans and Medicaid plans. The company is working to get seniors coverage too.
“Today 80% of all Americans with insurance have access to this medicine at $25 or less for a month’s supply, so it’s a price point at the pharmacy counter we have to talk about,” Jorgensen said.
Some insurance companies have cited inflation and increased demand for weight loss and other specialty drugs as driving factors influencing prices, according to the Peterson-KFF Health Tracker System.
Pharmaceutical companies have argued against dropping their list prices, saying pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, would decrease coverage for patients if prices fell. But Senator Sanders says he has commitments from top PBMs to expand coverage if Novo Nordisk lowers its list prices.
Roughly 72% of the revenue generated by Novo Nordisk is from the U.S., according to Sanders, a statement Jorgensen did not dispute.
“What I can promise is that Novo Nordisk will remain engaged and work with this committee on policy solutions to address the structural issues that harm patients and drive-up costs,” Jorgensen said.
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