The post Novo Nordisk CEO to testify at Senate over weight loss drug prices appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, speaks during an interview in New York on Aug. 10, 2022. Christopher Goodney | Bloomberg | Getty Images Novo Nordisk‘s top executive is slated to face a Senate grilling on Tuesday over the high prices of the company’s weight loss drug Wegovy and diabetes treatment Ozempic, as demand for both injections soars in the U.S.  Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen will testify at a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday in Washington, D.C. It comes roughly five months after Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who chairs the Senate panel, opened an investigation into the Danish drugmaker’s pricing practices.  Sanders contends that Novo Nordisk charges Americans substantially higher prices for its blockbuster drugs than it does for patients in other countries. Before insurance, Ozempic costs nearly $969 per month and Wegovy costs almost $1,350 per month in the U.S.  Meanwhile, both treatments can cost as little as under $100 for a month’s supply in some European countries, according to a release from the committee. Ozempic costs just $59 in Germany, while Wegovy costs $92 in the U.K. Sanders also said last week that the CEOs of major generic pharmaceutical companies have told him that they could sell a version of Ozempic for less than $100 a month at a profit. There are currently no generic alternatives to Ozempic available in the U.S.  Weight loss syringes of the brands “Wegovy”, “Ozempic” and “Mounjaro” are sold at In der Achat Apotheke in Mitte, Germany. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Sanders and other lawmakers, health experts and insurers have warned that the insatiable demand for Novo Nordisk’s drugs and similar weight loss and diabetes treatments from rival Eli Lilly could potentially bankrupt the U.S. health-care…

---

Filed under: News - @ September 24, 2024 11:27 am