Novo Nordisk CEO reticent on lowering semaglutide prices

Novo Nordisk chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen was taken to task by US lawmakers over the price of the company's semaglutide drugs for diabetes and obesity at a congressional hearing yesterday – but would not commit to reducing them.

Jørgensen danced around the topic of price cuts, saying Novo Nordisk supported "anything that helps patients get access and affordability […] we will look into."

However, he resisted all attempts by the members of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee to make him go further, claiming that around 80% of people with health insurance who take Ozempic for diabetes or obesity drug Wegovy pay less than $25 a month.

Independent Senator Bernie Sanders – who launched an investigation into Novo Nordisk's pricing strategy earlier this year – kicked off the meeting by reeling off the different prices for Ozempic and Wegovy around the world, noting for example that Wegovy costs $1,349 a month in the US, which he said was nearly 15 times as much as the drug costs in the UK.

"What we are dealing with today, is not just an issue of economics, it is not just an issue of corporate greed. It is a profound moral issue," said Sanders, who also slammed the "broken, dysfunctional, and cruel" US healthcare system for failing to deliver a basic human right to Americans.

"Novo Nordisk has developed game-changing drugs which, if made affordable, can save the lives of tens of thousands of Americans every year and significantly improve the quality of life of millions more," he added.

"If not made affordable, Americans throughout this country will needlessly die and suffer. If Novo Nordisk does not end its greed and substantially reduce the price of these drugs, we must do everything we can to end it for them."

"We are very committed to making sure that Americans have access at an affordable price point for our medicines," replied Jørgensen, adding: "There's nothing we would rather see happen."

The CEO was deluged with questions asking him to explain why higher prices are charged for drugs in the US compared to other markets around the world including Europe and Canada, and laid the blame in part on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which are currently under intense scrutiny by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

He doubled down on FTC claims that PBMs give preferential formulary access for drugs with higher list prices, saying that Novo Nordisk lost coverage of some of its insulin products when it reduced prices, affecting patient access.

Sanders said he had been assured by three of the largest PBMs that they would not limit coverage of Ozempic and Wegovy if their prices were cut.

Meanwhile, the trade organisation representing PBMs – the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) – hit back at Jørgensen's assertions, saying: "PBMs are the only entities in the healthcare system working to mitigate the impact on patients, employers, and taxpayers of big pharma's outrageous prices on blockbuster GLP-1s facing minimal competition."

Jørgensen also highlighted the massive $30 billion investment in manufacturing capacity Novo Nordisk has embarked on to meet supply shortages for Ozempic and Wegovy in the US, and stressed that, while a single company cannot overcome the structural issues in US healthcare, Novo Nordisk will '"stay engaged" in efforts to resolve them.