Intense Questions in the Senate on Obesity Drug Pricing

Jørgensen responds, photo by Aden Belay / GW SPH

This was definitely a textbook case of sitting in the hot seat. For more than two hours the CEO of Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, faced intense questions in the Senate HELP Committee about drug pricing for the company’s diabetes and obesity medicines. If you want a sense of the tone for the hearing, consider this comment and question from Chairman Bernie Sanders:

“All we are saying, Mr. Jørgensen, is treat the American people the same way you treat people all over the world. Stop ripping us off.

“What studies tell us is that because of the very high price of your products, 40,000 people a year may die in America. Is this acceptable to you?”

Now, of course, the answer to that harsh question is easy. “Any prospects of patients not getting access to the medicines they need is terrifying,” said Jørgensen.

Beyond the Drama

But beyond the drama, we are left with a messy blame game. Saunders anticipated that Jørgensen would point to pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for pushing drug prices higher. So the senator told him:

“I have received commitments in writing from all of the major PBMs that if Novo Nordisk substantially reduced the list price for Ozempic and Wegovy, they would not limit coverage. In fact, all of them told me they would be able to expand coverage for these drugs if the list price was reduced.”

Repeatedly, Sanders asked Jørgensen to sit down and find a way to bring the costs down. But it is not clear that any such commitment came out of this drama.

On top of that, outside of this hearing it seems there is plenty of reason to believe that PBMs are indeed making things worse. The Federal Trade Commission filed suit against all of the top PBMs last week, echoing many of the criticisms that Jørgensen voiced. They pointed to “a perverse drug rebate system” that drives prices higher to make room for big rebates to come back to the PBMs.

Patients Left in the Lurch

With all of this heat and not so much light, one thing is clear: patients are getting a raw deal. Jørgensen mentioned a patient assistance program for people who need Ozempic for diabetes but neatly avoided the fact that there is no such assistance for persons who need Wegovy for obesity. Joe Nadglowski, CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition, pointed to this gap as an obvious opportunity for Novo Nordisk to demonstrate their commitment to patient access:

“We appreciate the innovation Novo Nordisk has brought to people living with obesity and Mr. Jorgensen’s desire to have access for all patients to these life-changing medicines. One thing he could do right now is to bring Wegovy into the patient assistance program that he mentioned in the hearing. At present, people who need this drug for obesity cannot participate.”

Meanwhile, we conclude that although this Senate hearing sounded like a stalemate on unsustainable obesity drug pricing, lower prices are coming – sooner or later. The question is, who will lead on this critical issue?

Click here if you wish to watch the hearing, here, here, and here for further reporting.

Senator Bernie Sanders, still image from the live feed of the Senate HELP Committee

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September 25, 2024