Medicare Could Save $14 Billion with Access to Ozempic and Wegovy Generics

September 24, 2024

Medicare Could Save $14 Billion with Access to Ozempic and Wegovy Generics

WASHINGTON D.C. - The federal government could save Medicare $14 billion if it enabled generic competition of diabetes and obesity drugs Wegovy and Ozempic, according to Public Citizen's findings.

Pharma giant Novo Nordisk, which manufactures both Ozempic and Wegovy, charges Americans up to 15 times more for the treatments than people in other wealthy countries - costing beneficiaries and taxpayers billions of dollars annually.Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jørgensen, who appeared before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee at a hearingTuesday, claimed the company has little role in determining the price of Ozempic and Wegovy in the U.S. and pointed to third-party pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) as responsible for the drugs' high prices. HELP Committee chair Sen. Bernie Sanders, who summoned Jørgensen to answer for Novo's high prices, said PBMs have given him written commitments not to remove Ozempic and Wegovy from formularies if Novo Nordisk lowers the list prices of the drugs and called on Jørgenson for a verbal commitment to meet with PBMs.

Those prices could be even lower if the government authorized generic competition for the drugs. Dozens of health, consumer and community organizations signed a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerraurging the government to use its authority under existing current lawto allow other manufacturers to produce generic versions of the GLP-1 drugs.

One-in-ten Americans has diabetes and an additional 100 million American adults have prediabetes. Peter Maybarduk, Public Citizen's Access to Medicines director,says if they unlock generic competition of Ozempic and Wegovy, the feds can save taxpayers billions and provide treatment to the patients who need it most.

"Novo today appeared unable, or unwilling, to articulate a credible response why it charges Americans more than people in other wealthy countries. The federal government must open generic competition with Ozempic and Wegovy," said Maybarduk. "Right now, rationing is a painful reality for American patients dealing with issues related to diabetes and obesity. The federal government has an obligation to serve these patients' health needs. In doing so, we can also improve Medicare's financial health. As Sen. Sanders has cautioned, Novo Nordisk's price gouging practices would impose unmanageable costs on Medicare if its drugs were made available to all seniors who might benefit from them."