Obesity Drug Pricing Remains Stuck in the Spotlight
How big might the semaglutide budget bomb be? The authors of a new brief report in Annals of Internal Medicine today are making a point. How threatening can we make this sound? Right up front in their title, they label their estimates as the “maximum costs of expanded Medicare coverage of semaglutide for cardiovascular risk protection.” At the very end of their paper they make it clear – they had no intent to estimate real world spending. So make no mistake, the obesity drug pricing is stuck in the spotlight.
News media took the cue to produce splashy headlines. “Semaglutide may become Medicare Part D’s most expensive drug,” said one.
Novo Nordisk on the Defensive
For clear evidence that Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic and Wegovy brands of semaglutide, is on the defensive, just tune into network news. There you will find CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen rehearsing his pitch for a Senate hearing next month:
“If you look at just the cost of obesity in the U.S., it’s a disease that costs Americans more than $400 billion a year. And we are actually providing products that’s actually helping take that cost burden off.”
It will take a lot of lobbying to make people swallow that line of reasoning. Senator Bernie Sanders has a simpler message:
“It is clear that Novo Nordisk is ripping off the American people.”
Jarring Inequities
Honestly, we have sympathy for the argument Jørgensen is trying to make. Obesity is a wicked problem that no other big pharma company was ready to confront a few years ago. Novo Nordisk invested many billions of dollars and took risks no one else would. The company has brought a truly remarkable revolution in obesity medicine.
But memories are short. A righteous narrative doesn’t play well in the face of the jarring inequities that exceptionally high U.S. pricing for semaglutide is creating here and now. The list price of $1,300 per month looks extortionary in a world where people can buy the drug for as little as $92 in the UK.
Tough Luck
Yes, we get it that drug pricing is screwy in the U.S. PBMs drive prices higher so they can fatten their profits with kickbacks they call rebates. Drug companies roll out a paperwork jungle for a few patients with limited means and insurance and call it “patient assistance.” Jørgensen tried to explain this to NBC News, saying:
“I do acknowledge that some patients have poor insurance. And if you have poor insurance, it can be difficult to afford your medicines. And for those we have patient support programs where we try to help them out.”
To a cynical ear, this sounds like a sugar-coated version of “tough luck.” It is not a winning message. Bold leadership on obesity drug pricing and access to care is the only thing that will bring relief from this uncomfortable spotlight.
Click here for the pointed report in Annals, here for reporting from NBC News on Jørgensen’s defense, and here for further perspective.
Helsinki Pakkahuoneen Ranta Illuminated by Spotlights, painting by Alfred William Finch / WikiArt
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August 27, 2024
