Novo Nordisk introduced Monday that US patients can now get a month’s provide of Ozempic, the blockbuster diabetes drug, for $499, for those that pay for drugs on their very own and don’t undergo insurance coverage.
The transfer comes as President Donald Trump is pressuring drugmakers to decrease drug prices, which have lengthy been a serious well being care headache for Americans. He and lawmakers have referred to as out standard however expensive GLP-1 medication, that are used for diabetes and weight reduction, noting they are rather more costly within the United States than in different international locations.
Trump has additionally been pushing pharmaceutical producers to supply drugs on to shoppers at a decrease price, slicing out insurers and different gamers. Novo Nordisk is making Ozempic, which carries a listing price of slightly below $1,000 per 30 days, accessible at its NovoCare Pharmacy, which ships drugs on to cash-paying shoppers.
The drugmaker earlier this yr launched the direct-to-consumer pharmacy, providing Wegovy, its in-demand weight reduction drug, for $499 a month. Rival Eli Lilly has additionally slashed the price of its GLP-1 weight reduction drug, Zepbound, for self-pay patients.
The discounted Ozempic price can also be accessible on different platforms, together with Novo Nordisk’s web site and thru a partnership with GoodRx, which affords reductions on prescriptions at many pharmacies. The supply is open to eligible patients with an Ozempic prescription, the drugmaker mentioned.
Insurers usually tend to cowl Ozempic for these with diabetes than they are Wegovy, and Novo Nordisk affords reductions for these with protection. However, Novo Nordisk is trying to broaden Ozempic’s availability even additional.
“While Ozempic is well covered in the US, let’s not forget that there are some patients who pay out-of-pocket for this vital medicine,” Dave Moore, govt vice chairman, of Novo Nordisk’s US operations, mentioned in an announcement. “We believe that if even a single patient feels the need to turn to potentially unsafe and unapproved knockoff alternatives, that’s one too many.”
The firm famous in its second-quarter earnings name this month that compounding pharmacies, that are allowed to make variations of medicines accepted by the US Food and Drug Administration when medication are in scarcity, have affected the gross sales of its GLP-1 drugs.
The FDA removed Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide-based medication, Ozempic and Wegovy, together with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide-based medication, Zepbound and Mounjaro, from the scarcity checklist. Novo Nordisk, nevertheless, mentioned compounded variations proceed to be bought.