Diabetes patients in the US will now be able to purchase Ozempic for half its usual cost.
Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, said on Monday that it would be providing the drug through its direct pharmacy service for $499 (£369) per month, instead of just under $1,000 per month.
The drug giant said it had made a deal with healthcare firm GoodRx to make Wegovy, its obesity drug, available at this price in over 70,000 pharmacies nationwide.
It comes after Novo Nordisk saw sales plummet last month, after competition ramped up in the US.
The company said the profit warning came as a result of “persistent use” of compounded – or copycat – versions of its drugs, as well as “slower-than-expected market expansion and competition”.
It has faced serious competition from Mounjaro, Eli Lilly’s rival weight loss jab, as well as what it described as “unsafe and unlawful mass compounding” in the market as weight loss and diabetes drugs have soared in popularity.
Ozempic and Wegovy both contain glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It works by stimulating insulin secretion, which is why it helps patients with type 2 diabetes, but it also signals fullness to the brain.
Wegovy only triggers the GLP-1 receptor in the brian but Mounjaro works on both GLP-1 and GIP receptors, which can lead to more weight loss.
In March, Novo Nordisk reduced the cost of Wegovy for cash-paying patients, but now people without health insurance will be able to purchase it for this price.
Trump’s critique
The move comes just weeks after President Donald Trump criticised GLP-1 agonists for being more expensive in the US than in other countries, adding that he would “slash the cost of prescription drugs” by 80 per cent.
Last month, Trump wrote to pharmaceutical leaders demanding that they “negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations”.
He said: “increased revenues abroad must be repatriated to lower drug prices for American patients and taxpayers”.
He’s since upped that number, saying he would cut drug prices up to “1,500 percent,” which is mathematically impossible without entering negative numbers.
He also said that European nations were “unfairly shifting the cost burden onto American patients” by using their healthcare services to put pressure on US pharma companies to accept lower prices.
Novo Nordisk said that the price cut was unrelated to discussions with the US government.
Pfizer CEO Albert Boula has said he and other pharma companies are in talks about making their drugs available at a lower cost.
Will it impact the UK cost?
In the UK, patients can buy a four-week supply of Ozempic for between £119 and £190 from online pharmacies.
Novo Nordisk said it has no plans to rise UK prices, despite pressure from Trump.
In a statement, it said it would continue to focus “on supporting patients, and we are committed to ensuring that our medicines are not only innovative but also accessible and affordable for those who need them most”.
However, last week, weight-loss drugmaker Eli Lilly said it would increase UK prices by as much as 170pc due to concerns about unfair pricing.
The company said obesity drug Mounjaro would rise in price from Sept 1 in order to address “pricing inconsistencies compared to other developed countries, including in Europe”.
The company’s weight-loss jab will cost between £133 and £330 per injection (depending on dosage) in the UK.
CheqUp, a weight-loss jab provider, reported that sales of Wegovy increased more than 500pc, following the Eli Lilly announcement.
