Reduce the price of weight loss pills?
On the 2nd local time, US President Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders, in a commentary published in USA Today, shouted that Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk must significantly reduce the prices of Ozempic and Wegovy, which are used to treat diabetes and obesity. As of now, Novo Nordisk has not responded.
Biden pointed out in his article that tens of millions of Americans are fighting against type 2 diabetes and obesity. Novo Nordisk has developed Novo Tech and Novo Ying, which can effectively treat these diseases. However, the company has charged high prices to the American public, which may be several times higher than prices in Canada, Germany, Denmark, and other major countries. And not only Novo Nordisk, but also Lilly Pharmaceuticals charges unreasonably high prices for related drugs.
Biden cited a study by researchers at Yale University stating that the production cost of these drugs can be almost negligible compared to their high prices. For the treatment of obesity, American patients have to pay over $1000 per month for prescription drugs, and the production cost of medication per patient is less than $5 per month, and less than $57 per year, which is unacceptable.
Biden said that if half of obese adults in the United States take Novo and other weight loss pills, the total annual cost could reach $411 billion, which is $5 billion more than the cost of all prescription drugs purchased by Americans in pharmacies in 2022. If the prices of these drugs do not significantly decrease, they may bankrupt the US healthcare system.