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Novo Nordisk has significantly reduced the price of its blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic for self-paid or uninsured US patients.
The pharmaceutical company announced Monday that patients with type 2 diabetes can supply one-month medication for $499. That’s less than half of the list price, nearly $1,350, for people without health insurance. Ozempic prescription patients can receive diabetes treatment at ozempic.com or Novocare Pharmacy. This is a consumer online pharmacy from a drug maker that offers prescription drug delivery to cash pay clients.
Patients can also win Ozempic for $499 through GoodRx, a drug discount platform that offers Wegovy for $499 per month at more than 70,000 participating pharmacies nationwide.
“Improved access to authentic FDA-approved treatments is central to our mission at Novo Nordisk,” said Dave Moore, executive vice president of Novo Nordisk, in a statement. “Even though Ozempics are well covered in the US, don’t forget that there are patients who pay their own self-pay for this important drug. If even one patient feels the need to turn it into a potentially safe, unapproved alternative, I believe it is too much.”
The move comes amid calls from both patients and lawmakers, including President Donald Trump, for a more affordable GLP-1 treatment. Trump wrote to Novo Nolsdisk in July, sending letters to more than 12 pharmaceutical companies, calling for drug prices to be reduced by September 29th, CNBC reported. If businesses refuse to follow, Trump threatened to “deploy all our weapons tools to protect American families from continuing abusive drug pricing practices.”
Most private insurers have limited drug coverage for diabetics, which is far less than the full price of treatment. However, Medicare is prohibited from covering them under the law that programs cannot pay for weight loss products. Meanwhile, Medicaid coverage varies from state to state, with at least 14 states covering the cost of GLP-1 drugs for the treatment of obesity in patients.
This means that drugs that cost over $1,000 a month are rarely affordable for many.
Researchers who discovered obesity was first soaked in over a decade suggested that weight loss drugs like Ozempic could play a role.
How do Ozempic and Wegovy work?
Ozempic, Wegovi, and other weight loss drugs, also known as anti-obesity drugs or GLP-1, mimic the hormone known as glucagon-like peptide 1.
Hormones help regulate blood glucose by causing the pancreas and releasing another hormone, insulin, and slowing the release of sugar from the liver. Overweight or obese people can become insulin resistant. This means that your body does not respond properly to insulin.
Obesity drugs lower blood sugar levels and slow digestion, causing people to fill up. They also affect brain signals related to bloating and satisfaction, suppressing appetite and reducing food-related thoughts and cravings.
People get full, so they eat less and lose weight.
Ozempic was approved in 2017 to treat diabetes, and it surged after Tiktok celebrities and ordinary people reported that doctors had prescribed “unlabeled” to lose weight.
Wegovy, a high-dose version of the same drug called Semaglutide, was approved for weight loss in adults in 2021 and children aged 12 and over in 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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