Novo Nordisk plans to slash U.S. list prices for its popular weight-loss and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic by up to half starting next year, WSJ reports.
Shares of Novo Nordisk and its rival Eli Lilly fell over 2% each on the news.
Under the changes, both Ozempic and Wegovy will list for $675 a month, effective Jan. 1, 2027. That is half of the current price tag for anti-obesity therapy Wegovy and a 34% cut for diabetes treatment Ozempic. The price cuts also will apply to pill versions of both injections, including one sold as Rybelsus.
The reductions escalate a price war with archrival Eli Lilly in one of the fastest-growing, most hotly contested categories in pharmaceuticals.
Millions of patients are taking the so-called GLP-1 drugs, but price tags have deterred other potential customers either because their health plans aren’t covering the medicines or the out-of-pocket costs set by their plans are too high.
Novo Nordisk is cutting its drugs’ list prices for the first time, executives said, especially to reduce high out-of-pocket costs for patients who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans or pay coinsurance that is a percentage of list price.