Bernie Sanders says Ozempic can be produced for less than $100 a month

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) renewed his criticism of drugmaker Novo Nordisk on Tuesday, claiming that CEOs of major generic drug makers told him they could make and sell the successful diabetes drug Ozempic for less than $100 a month.

Sanders made the remarks during a panel of experts on Capitol Hill that previewed testimony by Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee next week.

In June, Jorgensen agreed to testify about the pricing of Ozempic in the U.S., as well as that of the drugmaker's hugely popular weight-loss drug Wegovy. Sanders, who heads the Senate committee, launched an investigation into Novo Nordisk's pricing practices in April.

According to a committee report, Novo Nordisk charges around $1,300 a month for Wegovy in the United States, while the drug is available for $186 a month in Denmark, $137 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom.

During the panel discussion on Tuesday, Sanders said his recent discussions with generic drug makers had shown that Novo Nordisk's pricing was “nothing more than excessive corporate greed.”

“They've studied the numbers and they tell me they can sell a generic version of Ozempic, the exact same drug that Novo Nordisk makes, to Americans for less than $100 a month,” Sanders said. “Less than 10 percent of what Americans are currently paying.”

Sanders' office declined to disclose which generic drug makers had told him they could sell Ozempic at a fraction of Novo Nordisk's price.

Whether generic manufacturers can actually sell Ozempic at a lower price is irrelevant because Novo Nordisk owns the exclusive patent and other companies are therefore prohibited from producing the drug.

Still, Sanders' comment offers insight into the kinds of questions Jorgensen is likely to face next week.

In a statement, a Novo Nordisk spokesperson said Ozempic's net price – the amount paid after discounts and refunds – has fallen 40% since the drug was approved in the U.S. in 2017, and Wegovy's net price follows a similar trend.

Tuesday's panel included experts from Yale, T1International, an advocacy group for people with type 1 diabetes, and Dale Folwell, North Carolina's treasurer, who has criticized the high costs of Ozempic and Wegovy in his state.

In August, Sanders commented on Eli Lilly's decision to cut the cost of the two lowest doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound, calling it “a modest step forward,” but criticized the drug company for not lowering the price of its diabetes drug Mounjaro.