A box of Ozempic and its contents lie on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, UK, October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
The blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic could be produced for less than $5 a month, even when New Nordisk fees near $1,000 per 30 days per injection within the US before insurance, a test released on Wednesday suggests.
The study by researchers from Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders raises more questions on the high price of the best-selling diabetes drug and similar weight-loss drugs which might be a part of a recent class of therapy called GLP-1.
Demand for these drugs has increased over the past 12 months whilst more insurers drop them from their plans resulting from cost, leaving some patients unable to afford the drugs.
The study also got here after years of political pressure on Novo Nordisk and other drugmakers to chop the high costs of diabetes treatment, especially insulin.
Ozempic can generally be constituted of fewer different types of insulin, in response to a study published in JAMA Network Open.
Scientists have found that the monthly supply the treatment could be produced at an estimated cost of 89 cents to $4.73. They estimated the prices of manufacturing the weekly shot together with the tax-adjusted profit margin needed to make these estimates, which they call “cost-based pricing.”
The Novo Nordisk list price for the monthly Ozempic package is $935.77 before insurance and other discounts. The findings suggest that GLP-1 “will likely be able to be produced at prices significantly lower than current levels, enabling wider access,” the researchers concluded.
In a statement Wednesday, Novo Nordisk declined to say the associated fee of manufacturing Ozempic and its weight-loss drug counterpart Wegova. However, the Danish drugmaker noted that it spent nearly $5 billion on research and development last 12 months and can spend more than $6 billion on a recent deal to extend production to fulfill demand for GLP-1.
She also stated that 75% of her gross earnings go towards rebates and rebates to make sure patients have access to her products.
The company also said Ozempic’s out-of-pocket expenses rely upon the patient’s insurance coverage. Patients with Ozempic private or industrial insurance can access a savings card and pay as little as $25 for a one-month, two-month or three-month treatment package for as much as 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 by Evercore ISI found that more than half of individuals currently taking GLP-1 say they pay an out-of-pocket fee of $50 or less. Nearly 75% of respondents who used certainly one of the drugs said they spent the identical amount.