A box of Ozempic and contents sit on a table in Dudley, North Tyneside, Britain, October 31, 2023.
Lee Smith | Reuters
The blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic might be manufactured for lower than $5 a month, whilst Novo Nordisk charges near $1,000 per thirty days for the injection within the U.S. before insurance, a study released Wednesday suggests.
The study, from researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders, raises more questions on the hefty price tag of the top-selling diabetes treatment and similar drugs for weight reduction, that are all a part of a latest class of treatments called GLP-1s.
Demand for those medicines has soared over the past yr, whilst more insurers drop them from their plans attributable 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 slash high costs of diabetes care, especially insulin.
Ozempic can generally be produced for lower than various types of insulin, in response to the study published in JAMA Network Open.
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Researchers found that a month’s supply of the treatment might be manufactured for an estimated 89 cents to $4.73. They evaluated manufacturing costs for the weekly injection together with a profit margin with an allowance for tax to provide those estimates, which they call “cost-based prices.”
Novo Nordisk’s list price for a monthly package of Ozempic is $935.77 before insurance and other rebates. The findings suggest that GLP-1s “can likely be manufactured for prices far below current prices, enabling wider access,” the researchers concluded.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Novo Nordisk declined to offer production costs for Ozempic and its weight reduction drug counterpart Wegovy. However the Danish drugmaker noted that it spent almost $5 billion on research and development last yr, and can spend greater than $6 billion on a recent deal to spice up manufacturing to fulfill demand for GLP-1s.
It also said 75% of its gross earnings go to rebates and discounts to make sure patients have access to its products.
The corporate also said out-of-pocket costs for Ozempic depend upon a patient’s insurance coverage. Patients with private or business coverage for Ozempic can access a savings card and pay as little as $25 for a one-month, two-month or three-month supply of the treatment for as much as 24 months.
Separate research from the University of Liverpool and other researchers has found that Wegovy might be produced for $40 a month.
A survey released this month from Evercore ISI found that greater than half of individuals currently taking a GLP-1 said they’re paying a monthly price of $50 or less out of pocket. Nearly 75% of respondents who used to take one among the drugs said they spent the identical amount.