During the hearing, an official from Novo Nordisk will be questioned about the pricing they charge for Ozempic and Wegovy, and a vote will determine whether to subpoena him or her. To garner support for his candidacy, Bernie Sanders has been heard.
On Tuesday, the senator declared that the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour, and Pensions (HELP) is going to vote on Tuesday, June 18, regarding whether or not to subpoena Doug Langa, the president of Novo Nordisk, for a hearing on July 10. The hearing is scheduled to take place on July 10. The tenth of July is the date that has been set for the hearing.
Exorbitant costs that the firm charges for its diabetic and weight loss therapies, which have garnered a lot of popularity in recent years, are the subject of an investigation that was initiated by the HELP committee in the month of April.
Ozempic costs about $600 a month in the US,
According to Sanders, which is significantly higher than the stated price of the medication in other nations. The investigation that was conducted by the committee ended up revealing this information to the public. The price of 59 dollars is all that is required to purchase a whole month’s supply of Ozempic in Germany.
Wegovy can be acquired in the United States at a net price of $809; however, in the United Kingdom, it can be purchased for $92; the difference is significant. The former can be purchased, and it is available for purchase in the United States.
Novo Nordisk is said to have refused to provide testimony in front of the committee, despite Sanders’ repeated demands for the corporation to do so. Sanders’ requests have been made multiple times.
Sanders issued the following statement through a press release: “the HELP Committee has reached out to Novo Nordisk on multiple occasions to request their voluntary attendance at a hearing to discuss the reasons why they are charging Americans up to ten or fifteen times more for the exact same Ozempic product that is sold in other countries.”
Despite the fact that we have exerted a great deal of effort to persuade them otherwise, they have always turned down our pleas. This is a circumstance that we deeply regret occurring.
Quartz received an email from a spokeswoman for Novo Nordisk, who stated that a subpoena is not required because the business has already answered all of Sanders’s requests. The comment was sent to Quartz. Quartz received the message that was delivered. There has never been a time when Novo Nordisk did not comply with the Chairman’s wishes and work in conjunction with them.
Every Ozempic has been like this since the beginning…
A spokeswoman for the corporation stated that they had “multiple times communicated our CEO’s willingness to testify and offered several dates for a hearing.” “multiple times.” In addition, the corporation had already provided a number of dates for the hearing.
Because the end cost of these prescriptions differs from patient to patient and may be contingent on the coverage that is provided by the patient’s insurance provider, it is of the highest significance to keep this fact in mind.
This is the group of medications that comprises Ozempic and Wegovy, and Morgan Stanley carried out a survey among those who are currently using GLP-1. Around two-thirds of those who participated in the survey stated that their insurance completely covers the cost of their prescription medication, as indicated by the research findings.
Patients who were responsible for their medical treatment provided information indicating that their monthly expenses averaged out to be $196 on average.