NEWS: Ahead of Novo Nordisk Hearing, 250 Clinicians Demand Affordable Access to Ozempic and Wegovy
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 – Ahead of next week’s hearing, which will focus on the outrageously high prices that Novo Nordisk charges Americans for their blockbuster drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), announced today that more than 250 clinicians from across the country are asking Congress to rein in exorbitant prices for novel diabetes and obesity treatments.
“Doctors across this country are sick and tired of seeing their patients ripped off by giant pharmaceutical companies,” said Sanders. “There is no rational reason, other than greed, for Novo Nordisk to charge Americans with Type 2 diabetes $969 a month for Ozempic, while this same exact drug can be purchased for just $155 in Canada and just $59 in Germany. Novo Nordisk also charges Americans with obesity $1,349 a month for Wegovy, while this same exact product can be purchased for just $140 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom. Doctors agree. 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.”
Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jørgensen will testify about the high cost of Ozempic and Wegovy at an upcoming HELP Committee hearing on September 24th.
“The exorbitant prices that manufacturers are asking my patients to pay for these novel diabetes and obesity medications are simply unacceptable. Too often, because manufacturers are pricing out my patients, I have to resort to treatment options that are less effective and less safe. These are life-changing treatments that should be available to my patients and everyone who needs them, not just those who can afford to pay,” said Dr. Kasia Lipska, a practicing endocrinologist and diabetes researcher at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.
“In North Carolina, we have been struggling all year with lack of coverage for weight loss medications. When our state plan and large employers dropped coverage for weight loss medications earlier this year, patients were left without treatment. Those who wanted to continue on the medications could pay cash. But for most patients, paying hundreds of dollars without insurance coverage is not affordable. Even with drug company coupons or discounts on certain doses, these treatments are still unattainable for most of my patients,” said Dr. Elizabeth Dewey, a family medicine physician practicing in Greensboro, North Carolina.
The doctors called on manufacturers to lower their prices and urged Congress to do everything in its power to force the manufacturers to comply, arguing that physicians want patients to be able to access medications that can improve their health and quality of life, but not at the expense of American taxpayers.
Read the full letter, here.
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Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. We are 27,000 physicians and medical students in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies; which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter @drsforamerica.
