Biden Urges Pharma Giants to Cut Prices on Diabetes and Weight Loss Drugs

US President Joe Biden has called on pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to reduce the prices of diabetes and weight loss medications such as Ozempic, condemning what he describes as the firms’ practice of “ripping off the American people.”

In a collaborative article with Senator Bernie Sanders, Biden emphasized that American patients pay substantially higher prices for Novo Nordisk’s diabetes drugs Ozempic and Wegovy compared to patients in countries like Canada, Germany, and Denmark. A study highlighted that a one-month supply of Ozempic in the US cost $936 last year, while the same supply cost $169 in Canada and $103 in Germany.

Eli Lilly has also been criticized for charging “unconscionably high prices” for Mounjaro, a medication similar to Ozempic. Biden and Sanders questioned why residents of Burlington, Vermont, should pay more than those in Copenhagen or Berlin for the same medication.

The high costs of these drugs have rendered them unaffordable for millions of Americans. Biden and Sanders warned that without substantial price reductions, the financial strain could potentially bankrupt the American healthcare system. “We will not allow that to happen,” they declared.

Addressing high prescription drug prices has been a long-standing issue for American patients, and Biden has made reducing healthcare costs a key focus of his reelection campaign.