An Ozempic box and its contents lie on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, Britain, October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
The blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic could be manufactured for less than $5 a month, if only that Novo Nordisk A study published Wednesday suggests that fees for injections in the United States amount to nearly $1,000 per month before insurance.
The study, conducted by researchers at Yale University, King's College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, raises more questions about the high price of the top-selling diabetes treatment and similar weight-loss drugs, which are all part of a new scheme. A class of treatments called GLP-1s.
Demand for these drugs has soared over the past year, even as more insurance companies have dropped them from their plans due to cost, leaving some patients unable to afford the drugs.
The study also comes after years of political pressure on Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers to reduce the high costs of diabetes care, especially insulin.
Ozempic can generally be produced less than other forms of insulin, according to the study published in JAMA Network Open.
The researchers found that a monthly supply of the treatment could be manufactured for an estimated 89 cents to $4.73. They evaluated the manufacturing costs for weekly injections along with the tax-deductible profit margin to produce those estimates, which they call “cost-based pricing.”
Novo Nordisk's list price for the monthly Ozempic package is $935.77 before insurance and other rebates. The results suggest that GLP-1 could likely be manufactured at prices much lower than current prices, allowing it to be more widely accessible, the researchers concluded.
In a statement on Wednesday, Novo Nordisk declined to provide production costs for Ozempic and its weight-loss drug counterpart Wegovy. But the Danish drugmaker noted that it spent nearly $5 billion on research and development last year, and will spend more than $6 billion on a recent deal to boost manufacturing to meet demand for GLP-1s.
It also said that 75% of its total profits go to rebates and discounts to ensure patients have access to its products.
The company also said Ozempic's direct costs depend on the patient's insurance coverage. Patients with private or commercial coverage for Ozempic can access a savings card and pay a minimum of $25 for one, two or three months of treatment for up to 24 months.
Separate research by the University of Liverpool and other researchers found that Wegovy could be produced for $40 a month.
A survey released this month from Evercore ISI found that more than half of people currently taking GLP-1 said they pay a monthly price of $50 or less out of pocket. Nearly 75% of participants who were taking one of the medications said they spent the same amount.
