Parliament puts pressure on CEO of Novo Nordisk over price increases for slimming products

WASHINGTON (TN) — The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing Tuesday to discuss popular drugmaker Novo Nordisk's price cut on its successful weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.

Lawmakers pressed CEO Lars Jorgensen, who placed much of the blame on pharmacy benefits managers. Jorgensen said that of every dollar the company makes, 74 cents goes to the PBMs.

C. Michael White is a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. He said some weight-loss drugs are quite expensive in the United States.

“They’ll cost you a little over $1,000 a month,” White said.

The pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk produces two of these drugs: Ozempic and Wegovy. The company's CEO spoke on Tuesday about the high prices of the drugs.

“We do not set the prices for patients. They are set by the insurance companies,” said Jorgensen.

Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the committee, demanded answers as to why the drugs cost so much.

“It's a profound moral question,” Sanders said.

Sanders said Americans pay $969 a month for Ozempic, compared to $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany. Jorgensen argues that prices are not determined solely by his company.

“It is clear that patients too often struggle to navigate the complex American health care system,” Jorgensen said.

Madeline Summerville, an attorney with Georgia Trail Consulting, said Tuesday's hearing was an opportunity for lawmakers to ask directly why Americans are paying so much.

“They wanted the former CEO of the company to come and explain why they were asking for so much,” Summerville said.

Jorgensen agreed to meet with pharmacy benefit managers to discuss the possibility of a price reduction, but Summerville believes more needs to be done to get to the bottom of the problem.

“What is the reason they get away with price gouging?” asked Summerville.