The news: Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk will cut the US list prices of some of its blockbuster weight loss drugs by as much as 50% from 2027, in efforts to reclaim a bigger market share in the country.
The numbers: Novo set a monthly price of USD675 ($957.56) across the board for its suite of semaglutide drugs including Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus, amounting to a 50% price cut for Wegovy and a 34% reduction for Ozempic.
Rival Eli Lilly’s competing obesity medicine, Zepbound, currently has a list price of USD1,086.37.
The context: The price drop will take effect from 1 January 2027, the company said on Tuesday, adding that the move will help more than 100 million Americans living with obesity and over 35 million people with type 2 diabetes gain access to the GLP-1 treatments.
The price of semaglutides has deterred potential new customers from trying the treatments as the out-of-pocket costs set by health insurance are too high, or their health plans will not cover them at all.
What they said: “Private and public payers, as well as patients, want access and have been calling for lower list prices,” said Jamey Millar, executive vice president, US Operations of Novo Nordisk. “The lower list price is intended to connect more people with our innovative medicines, specifically those whose out-of-pocket costs are linked to list price, such as individuals with high-deductible health plans or co-insurance benefit designs.”