US Senator Bernie Sanders questions CEO of Novo Nordisk during hearing on drug pricing

Senator Bernie Sanders questioned Lars Jorgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, about the cost of his weight-loss drugs in the United States during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

In his opening remarks before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, Sanders argued that Novo's Ozempic costs over 15 times more in the US than in Germany and that Wegovy is almost 15 times more expensive in the US than in the UK. Both drugs, which have the same active ingredient but different approved indications, are enjoying increasing popularity in the US market.

Jorgensen said the risk of lowering list prices is that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) would stop covering these products. He cited the example of Levemir, a long-acting insulin that was taken off the market in January.

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Jorgensen said after the company cut the list price by 65%, PBMs stopped covering the product. The drug had dropped from 90% of insurance plans to about 35%.

Sanders argued that he had received written assurances from the major PBMs that they would not restrict coverage if “Novo Nordisk significantly reduced the list price for Ozempic and Wegovy. In fact, they all told me they could expand coverage for these drugs if the list price was reduced.”

With this in mind, Sanders asked Jorgensen whether the company would commit to significantly reducing the list price of these drugs in the United States.

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The CEO, who took over in 2017, said he would be happy to “do whatever helps patients” but did not know under what conditions these promises were made.

Nearly all U.S. health insurance plans cover Ozempic and about half cover Wegovy, Jorgensen said. He said 80% of all insured Americans can get these drugs for $25.

Jorgensen said it was not the company's intention to force anyone to pay the list price. The action was “a starting point for negotiations with the PBMs and insurance companies.”

Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jorgensen testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday. (JOEL SAGET/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Sanders said, “If you are uninsured, you pay the full list price. If you have a high deductible, you pay the full list price. If you have a copayment, the percentage of the price you pay at the pharmacy counter is based on the list price.”

The senator went on to say that in the best case scenario, with all discounts and rebates, the company would have to charge Americans just under $600 for Ozempic, which is “more than nine times what people in Germany pay for the product.”

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Ozempic was approved by the federal health authorities in 2017 and marketed for medical purposes in the treatment of type 2 diabetes “with weight loss as a side effect of the action and mechanism of action of the drug.”

Wegovy was approved in 2021 for chronic weight management in adults who are obese or overweight and have at least one weight-related condition.