The cash price for a popular weight-loss drug was lowered by 30% Monday. Novo Nordisk, a Danish pharmaceutical company, announced that Wegovy would now be sold for $349, down from its previous price of $499.
The new pricing, which also applies to Novo’s diabetes drug Ozempic, was implemented on Monday at 70,000 retailers nationwide.
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“As pioneers of the GLP-1 class, we are committed to ensuring that real, FDA-approved Wegovy and Ozempic are affordable and accessible to those who need them,” Dave Moore, Novo Nordisk executive vice president, said in a statement.
He added that the move was part of a broader effort to “expand access that includes building relationships with telehealth providers and major retailers, expanding coverage, and working with the [Trump] Administration to lower costs for people living with chronic diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes.”
Dr. Vladimir Kushnir of the BJC HealthCare hospital system in St. Louis told Straight Arrow News that lowering prices for these drugs is “life-changing.”
“Manufacturers lowering the prices of these medications, which really have been life changing for many people in my personal life and many of my patients, is great and is going to help Americans get healthier,” Kushnir said.
Administration’s efforts to lower drug prices
The price drop comes less than two weeks after President Donald Trump announced that Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly had agreed to lower the price of two popular GLP-1 medications for weight loss.
Trump also said both companies agreed to sell oral GLP-1 medications, which are currently under development, for no more than $149 per month.
The announcement was the latest in the administration’s efforts to reduce prescription drug prices. In October, Trump unveiled a sweeping deal with Pfizer that he says will slash costs for patients and taxpayers.
The president also introduced TrumpRx, a site that will allow those without insurance to buy drugs directly from manufacturers.
“The United States is just 1% of the world’s population and consumes only 13% of all prescription drugs, yet pharmaceutical companies make 75% of their profits from American customers,” Trump previously told reporters.
