Sanders, chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, announced this week he's launching an investigation into the price of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy.
"The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing these drugs that have the potential to be a game changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity," Sanders said in a letter to Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen.
"As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them," he added.
Sanders asked for internal communications about the prices of the drugs in the U.S., where consumers pay much more than other countries. He also asked why the company charges more for Wegovy when it and Ozempic are the same drug.
The monthly list price for Ozempic is $935 for four weekly injections, according to Novo Nordisk's website. The manufacturer's weight-loss drug Wegovy is also a semaglutide injection. Its list price is about $1,349 per month.
"Further, if the prices for these products are not substantially reduced, they also have the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and our entire health care system," Sanders wrote.
According to an analysis from KFF, spending on Ozempic alone increased from $2.6 billion in 2021 to $4.6 billion in 2022.
Federal law bars Medicare from covering weight-loss drugs, though Congress is considering taking steps to change the policy. Private insurers have been unwilling to cover weight-loss drugs because they are viewed as lifestyle or cosmetic medicine and not essential.
Ozempic is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes, and Wegovy is approved to help with weight loss in certain patients or lower their risk of cardiovascular disease.
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