Getting your hands on the drug that everyone has been talking about may soon become easier.
Ozempic, the semaglutide injection made by pharma company Novo Nordisk, is predicted to have its price cut in negotiations with the U.S. government.
The drug, which is designed to help patients with type 2 diabetes manage blood sugar levels, is currently priced at nearly $1,000 a month in the U.S.
"It is very likely that Ozempic will be part of negotiations in the coming round, and we're ready for that," Ulrich Otte, senior vice president of finance and operations for Novo Nordisk, said at the Cantor Global Healthcare Conference in New York on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg.
Under President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, the government can bargain with pharmaceutical companies about the prices of certain drugs. Medicare has already haggled down the price of 10 drugs, and the new list of 15 more is due to be announced in February 2025, with Ozempic is expected to be among them. The new prices will be declared in November 2025 and available at those prices by 2027.
Ozempic is an injection containing the active drug semaglutide, and was approved in 2017 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in adults with type 2 diabetes.
It works by mimicking a natural hormone called GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1), which is involved in the regulation of blood sugar levels and appetite.
"This hormone is released from our intestines when we eat a meal and signals to the brain and pancreas to do a few things. Firstly, it helps the pancreas release insulin and helps to control blood sugar, and, secondly, it signals to the brain to reduce appetite, reducing feelings of hunger," Simon Cork, a senior lecturer in physiology at Anglia Ruskin University in the U.K., told Newsweek.
Ozempic can therefore also lead to weight loss, as the drug also reduces appetite, as well as delaying the rate at which food leaves the stomach, making you feel full for longer.
"They are based on naturally occurring human chemicals called GLP-1 molecules," Sultan Linjawi, an endocrine and diabetes specialist, previously told Newsweek. "These hormones effectively do three things: They're released by us humans when we eat to increase insulin release, they reduce the amount of glucose that the liver produces, and they tell us we are full."
In some studies, GLP-1 was found to result in patients losing up to 15 percent of their body weight over a two-year period. However, they do come with some side effects, including digestion issues, nausea, vomiting and bloating, among others.
Ozempic is not approved for use in weight loss, however, many people have been taking the drug for this purpose. Semaglutide was approved for weight-loss purposes under another name—Wegovy—which has a higher dose. Ozempic is often covered by health insurance, while Wegovy is often not.
More than 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese. Ozempic and Wegovy have become incredibly popular, with a large proportion of the population having tried them for weight loss purposes.
A recent survey of U.S. adults has found that 25 percent of people would consider using weight loss drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy without consulting their doctor first.
"A patient could have a serious or life-threatening side effect such as severe dehydration, pancreatitis, or allergic reaction," internal medicine physician at Ohio State University, Dr. Shengyi Mao, previously told Newsweek.
"While side effects may also happen for patients who are prescribed these medications, the prescriber is likely to be screening patients for appropriateness of taking the medicine, and monitoring for reactions and know how to deal with them."
Lowering the costs may therefore mean patients don't resort to taking the drugs without consulting their doctors, and also avoid taking fake and counterfeit versions of the drugs, which can also be very dangerous.
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Update 09/19/24, 1:39 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Simon Cork.
About the writer
Jess Thomson is a Newsweek Science Reporter based in London UK. Her focus is reporting on science, technology and healthcare. ... Read more
