Novo retains only a fraction of its drugs’ list prices, with the rest paid to companies that manage pharmacy benefits for insurers and employers, CEO Jorgensen said. — Bloomberg
NEW YORK: Novo Nordisk A/S chief executive officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen will use a familiar argument to defend the US prices of blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy before a congressional committee led by Senator Bernie Sanders – it’s middlemen.
Novo retains only a fraction of its drugs’ list prices, with the rest paid to companies that manage pharmacy benefits for insurers and employers, according to Jorgensen’s written testimony that was viewed by Bloomberg ahead of a hearing in Washington.
While patients may not see it at the pharmacy counter, the drugs’ prices have decreased, according to the comments
Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical company has spent decades and billions of dollars up front to develop them.
“The ‘net’ price Novo Nordisk ultimately receives for the medicines it sells is far below the published ‘list’ price,” Jorgensen said in his testimony.
Cutting the list price “may in fact create harmful unintended consequences”, he said, such as preventing some people from getting the medications.
The Danish company faces increasing pressure to make its medicines more affordable as demand skyrockets.
Many patients pay out-of-pocket to use them for weight loss, which some insurers don’t cover.
Sanders, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labour and Pensions committee, has repeatedly assailed Novo for charging more for its drugs in the United States than other countries after a study found Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than US$5 a month.
Novo representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. — Bloomberg
