Mounjaro manufacturer blasts UK as ‘worst country in Europe’ for drug prices

37 comments

1. Love this. Yes, we are the worst for profit generation and the best for keeping prices honest. If you don’t like it, don’t sell it. But guess what?? You do like it! Because you do sell it! Who knew?!?!??!

2. > Dave Ricks, chief executive of the firm that makes Mounjaro, told the Financial Times that the UK pays less than other nations for its products and added, “unless that changes, I don’t think they will see many new medicines and I don’t think they will see much investment”.

   So the UK and NHS are doing a good job not to get ripped off by these vultures and they moan about it.

3. Thing is they can squawk about it all they want, but a big part of the reason that the UK keeps drug prices so low is that the NHS is negotiating on behalf of a population of nearly seventy million people and economies of scale are real.

   They complain about it publicly, and then agree to the lower prices anyway because a lower price for a larger patient cohort is still better economically.

4. People apparently we pay too little to drug companies on the open market, time to shut it all down and pay these vultures all our money.

   Im not sure what their argument is, do we have to pay them more than they are willing to sell them to us for?

5. The Donald tells big Pharma move everything here or we tariff you back to the stone age, also sell your drugs to other countries at the same rate as you charge here to make the market even. Suddenly every drug company has a problem with the UK and I bet you can guess why.

   Rather than drop prices in the US they want everyone else to pay way more, funny how these things work.

6. Is that the worse for patients or corporate profits?

7. He’s not wrong in a sense, we don’t have access to the cutting edge treatments available in other countries or the shortest wait times because through the NHS we don’t pay for it until it becomes viable from a costings stand point so we end up a few generations behind. Which I’m happy with as long as we as a collective are not getting ripped off and those edge case treatments can still be provided to those who truly need it.

8. I’d love for us to set up an Indian style generics drug maker for scenarios like this.

9. This article should be pinned to the wall of every meeting room in parliament so I can be pointed at any time anyone suggests that privatisation leads to greater efficiency and public ownership doesn’t.

10. Worst country for making leeches rich off overpriced drugs !! At least we are good at something and I take this as an absolute win

11. The UK should stand its ground! Healthcare costs per person in the US are over double those in the UK, with Americans often facing high out-of-pocket expenses. In the US, the high price of essential medicines like insulin has led to cases where people have died from diabetes, despite living in “The Greatest country on earth”

12. I know for a fact that these fuckers initially demand insane prices and then negotiate down 50+% to get access to millions of patients through the NHS. And presumably they still make a decent profit otherwise they wouldn’t bother.

    This is called capitalism buddy. Don’t complain because it isn’t being rigged in your favour.

13. Thanks for confirming the government are doing a great job on this.

14. The Fanta Fuhrer literally doubled the price of Mounjaro and all of Eli Lilly’s other weight loss products to my knowledge and gets upset we push back. Now a lot of the UK is dropping it for other non-US products because it’s not worth the price compared to everything else available. When you paid £100 privately for something and it suddenly becomes £200-250 or so for the same thing almost overnight people are going to kick off.

15. Awww, diddums … yet I notice he’s still selling it here.

16. Somebody’s mad that everyone is switching to Wegovy after they hiked the price on mounjaro!

17. We pay too little?? Didn’t Mounjaro’s price just jumped 150% up? I expect most people stopped taking it, profit’s down and we get a tantrum. Fucking grow up

18. FTFY: Mounjaro manufacturer blasts UK as ‘worst country in Europe’ for drug ~~prices~~ profits.

19. I suddenly harbour an intense dislike for this awful company

20. Because our health system is based on health outcomes, not profit.

21. So it’s actually the best for the patient then just not for the billionaires trying to get more billions, i’m ok with that

22. “Warns that the UK will miss out on new drugs”.

    No, no, no. This sort of disgusting, ultra-capitalist stance needs to be called out. Everything drug companies build – everything anyone ot any company ever builds or creates – is, inevitably and significantly, reliant on the current net “output” of the accumulation of all human knowledge. You’re building on the shoulders of *everyone*.

    Oh but we can’t have your shiny new drug in the UK because we’ve socialised medicine? What a disgusting, perverted, depressing, and selfish outlook.

    I am revolted. This level of anger makes me feel French!

23. These companies don’t want to cure people, they want customers, it’s all about the Benjamins. The UK and NHS are right to hold out to these sharks in suits.

24. This kind of news keeps popping up in our media, this is to get the people used to the story.

    This means WHEN they do put the prices up, people will be more understanding.

    This is dangerous but it’s going to happen.

25. You mean the best because of collective bargaining (the NHS)

26. I agree x cocaine has become unaffordable with an average salary in the UK.

27. These are freaking liars. The UK government gives rebates for the new type of drugs for 5 to 10 years since they are introduced to the market. That is a minimum of 10%, which is outright profit. These leeches compare the profits against US and other profitable markets and think that the UK is bad.Overall, the UK market is good for pharmaceutical companies but the UK government did not give in to market greed.

28. The NHS probably has more buying power than almost any other institution in Europe.

29. I work in the pharmaceutical industry and was interviewed on
    Friday to be part of a team to manufacture Mounjaro. I got a phone call yesterday saying they’d pulled all funding on the project. Not sure why but I was wondering whether the trade deal Starmer & Trump signed last week had any bearing on it ?

30. Slaps a 170% raise on their drug here then moans about the pricing. Pot calling the kettle black.

    Also I’ve found a European alternative to Mounjaro and guess who’s getting my money now. Guess it’s hitting you in the pocket and your share holders are pissed. Do one!

31. An upside to a large publicly owned health service.

32. Awww big pharma crying because we won’t get ripped off? Boo hoo.

33. Sounds like the NHS is working as intended. Want to sell your drugs here then you have to go through our collective bargaining system.

34. I don’t know, I think our coke is quite affordable…

35. Good. There is no market for obesity drugs in Japan. They’ve cracked it…..

36. Translation: The UK protects its citizens and doesn’t give in to multinational pharmaceutical conglomerates.

    Shock horror, socialised healthcare works for the **people** and not profit? Well I’ll be damned.

37. So…he means the best country in Europe for drug prices?

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