The head of the Danish pharmaceutical group Novo Nordisk agreed on Tuesday, under pressure from the US Congress, to consider reducing the prices of its two famous diabetes and obesity drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, in the United States.
US Senator Bernie Sanders asked the group’s chairman, Lars Frørgaard Jørgensen, during a congressional hearing, “Will you pledge today that Novo Nordisk will significantly reduce the price of these two drugs in the United States?”
“We would be happy to look into anything that could help patients get affordable medications,” Jorgensen replied.
Reducing prices is of great importance to American patients, some of whom face difficulties in obtaining these drugs that have revolutionized the treatment of obesity and diabetes.
Sanders stressed that not “making (these two medicines) accessible to everyone will lead to the needless death of Americans.”
He recalled that the price set by Novo Nordisk in the United States for the anti-diabetic drug Ozambik amounted to $969 per month, compared to $71 in France. There is also a similar disparity between WeGovvi prices.
But Jorgensen pointed out that 80% of Americans with health insurance pay $25 or less per month.