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Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk facing pressure as study finds $1,000 appetite suppressant can be made for just $5

Don2 (Don1 Revised)

Don2 (Don1 Revised)

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Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
Click to expand...
A gym membership is definitely cheaper and more fun!
 
Harry Bosch said:
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
Click to expand...
A gym membership is definitely cheaper and more fun!
Click to expand...

My wife is on a similar drug for diabetes, hundreds per month. It's so high that insurance sent a notice they are going to stop covering it. She currently doesn't know what to do. She's not on it specifically to lose weight or cosmetic reasons, the doctor prescribed it. The doctor told her to take it. It's called Mounjaro.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
Click to expand...
Called to account, NN will claim every penny ever spent on development, testing, FDA compliance etc, as specifically related to the development and marketing of Ozempic, just as they do with every other overpriced drug.
 
I would assume at least part of the high cost of the drug is in recover the high R&D costs in developing it. That said, it does seem excessive and out of reach for most consumers.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Harry Bosch said:
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
Click to expand...
A gym membership is definitely cheaper and more fun!
Click to expand...

My wife is on a similar drug for diabetes, hundreds per month. It's so high that insurance sent a notice they are going to stop covering it. She currently doesn't know what to do. She's not on it specifically to lose weight or cosmetic reasons, the doctor prescribed it. The doctor told her to take it. It's called Mounjaro.
Click to expand...
Sorry. That sucks. It’s outrageous that foreigners can buy cheaper drugs because they have an advocate that will negotiate better for their behalf.
 
thebeave said:
I would assume at least part of the high cost of the drug is in recover the high R&D costs in developing it.
Click to expand...
There is no doubt about that.
thebeave said:
it does seem excessive and out of reach for most consumers.
Click to expand...
… or about that!

I think there should be some kind of restriction on gouging the public.
 
thebeave said:
I would assume at least part of the high cost of the drug is in recover the high R&D costs in developing it. That said, it does seem excessive and out of reach for most consumers.
Click to expand...

If that's true, then why is it so low in Europe? Their own description sounded more about growing the product...which means more profit...
 
ideologyhunter said:
Maybe if they wouldn't run their damn commercials every 10 minutes with that ear worm song and those smiling zombie actors, they could lower the price a bit.
Click to expand...
Yep. Ozempic is not as bad as that other musical drug commercial where that, uh, shall we say, "portly" woman dances around flapping her arms like she's trying to get airborn. Jiardience, I think? Ugh. I think I wore out the mute button on my remote because of that one.
 
Elixir said:
thebeave said:
I would assume at least part of the high cost of the drug is in recover the high R&D costs in developing it.
Click to expand...
There is no doubt about that.
thebeave said:
it does seem excessive and out of reach for most consumers.
Click to expand...
… or about that!

I think there should be some kind of restriction on gouging the public.
Click to expand...
Welcome to late-stage capitalism!

The price for the product is not based on profitability. It is based upon "what the market will bear," or rather, "what is the absolute most we can charge for this before the villagers arrive at our gates with pitchforks and flaming torches?" If they're angry, but can manage to scrape up enough money to buy another month's worth and keep going to work so they don't have time to storm the gates? Then that's the price you set.

Of course there's another level on this, because they're not charging the villagers. They're charging the villagers' insurance. The insurance company that rakes in billions of dollars in profit because they're operating on the same system! "Are they throwing rocks through the windows of our corporate offices yet? No? Raise their premiums, their co-pays, and their out of pocket maximum again. Keep doing that until you see the mob approaching, then cut the price by 5% and plead poverty."
 
Ford said:
The price for the product is not based on profitability. It is based upon "what the market will bear," or rather, "what is the absolute most we can charge for this before the villagers arrive at our gates with pitchforks and flaming torches?"
Click to expand...
That's why we have (had?) institutions to guarantee fair play. Unfortunately, stakeholders in the effected businesses have tended to dominate such institutions, and they also happen to be major political donors, rolling in cash as they are...

Repeal Citizens United, institute publicly funded elections, and we're almost halfway to an actual democracy. The prices of most drugs would drop like a rock, if the public interest was front of mind of our elected officials.
 
Don2 (Don1 Revised) said:
Article

Ozempic could be profitably produced for less than $5 a month even as maker Novo Nordisk A/S charges almost $1,000 in the US, according to a study that revives questions about prices for top-selling treatments for diabetes and obesity.

The blockbuster drug could be manufactured for 89 cents to $4.73 for a month’s supply, figures that include a profit margin, researchers at Yale University, King’s College Hospital in London and the nonprofit Doctors Without Borders reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. That compares to the monthly US list price of $968.52 for Ozempic, a weekly injection.

...

Bernie Sanders ... called on Novo Nordisk to lower the list price of Ozempic to $155 a month or less, in line with what it charges in other countries.
Click to expand...

That sounds too reasonable and so maybe they will reduce it to $800 after some pressure.
Click to expand...

.....
On the PBS, Ozempic costs Australians about $42 a month (four weekly injections). On a private prescription, the cost is about $132 a month.

According to the medical news website WebMD, Ozempic can cost uninsured Americans more than a $US1000 a month and many flock to Canada to save $US700 a month.
....

www.afr.com

‘A victim of its own success’: Inside the great Ozempic shortage

The drug is approved in Australia to treat type 2 diabetes but people have flocked to it for weight loss. That’s raising some hard questions about who should receive it and why.
www.afr.com www.afr.com
 
Medical care in America is not reasonably characterized as capitalist, given the large elements of government regulation and interference in that area of our economy. Nevertheless, it is widely associated with capitalism, as we see in this thread. That is one reason people keep giving the okay to increasing levels of state control.
 
Cheerful Charlie said:
There is a big difference between capitalists and robber barons.
Click to expand...
What is it?
There's a difference between some capitalists and robber barons. One of the biggest differences is that we can't all buy top government officials but robber barons can and do.
Tom
 
Consider the difference between the owner of a restaurant and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company that reams Americans of vast sums of money in a manner not allowed in say, Australia.
 
Cheerful Charlie said:
Consider the difference between the owner of a restaurant and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company that reams Americans of vast sums of money in a manner not allowed in say, Australia.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure, but it seems like you're referring to my post.
I used to have a little art/framing store. I was a capitalist.
But what the big boys got away with was incredible to me. Especially the corporate welfare. And that was before "Citizens United".

I don't see the current situation a result of "late stage capitalism". It's a result of "late stage democracy".
The human experiment in democracy is not turning out well. And it's ending.
Tom
 
Ford said:
Elixir said:
thebeave said:
I would assume at least part of the high cost of the drug is in recover the high R&D costs in developing it.
Click to expand...
There is no doubt about that.
thebeave said:
it does seem excessive and out of reach for most consumers.
Click to expand...
… or about that!

I think there should be some kind of restriction on gouging the public.
Click to expand...
Welcome to late-stage capitalism!

The price for the product is not based on profitability. It is based upon "what the market will bear," or rather, "what is the absolute most we can charge for this before the villagers arrive at our gates with pitchforks and flaming torches?" If they're angry, but can manage to scrape up enough money to buy another month's worth and keep going to work so they don't have time to storm the gates? Then that's the price you set.

Of course there's another level on this, because they're not charging the villagers. They're charging the villagers' insurance. The insurance company that rakes in billions of dollars in profit because they're operating on the same system! "Are they throwing rocks through the windows of our corporate offices yet? No? Raise their premiums, their co-pays, and their out of pocket maximum again. Keep doing that until you see the mob approaching, then cut the price by 5% and plead poverty."
Click to expand...
Medicare will not cover Ozempic for weight loss. It's considered an off label use. It will only cover it for type 2 diabetes. I think most insurance companies follow Medicare's lead on such things.
 
TomC said:
Cheerful Charlie said:
Consider the difference between the owner of a restaurant and the CEO of a large pharmaceutical company that reams Americans of vast sums of money in a manner not allowed in say, Australia.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure, but it seems like you're referring to my post.
I used to have a little art/framing store. I was a capitalist.
But what the big boys got away with was incredible to me. Especially the corporate welfare. And that was before "Citizens United".

I don't see the current situation a result of "late stage capitalism". It's a result of "late stage democracy".
The human experiment in democracy is not turning out well. And it's ending.
Tom
Click to expand...

Robber barons are not new of course. But our modern robber barons are still rapacious, and many of our politicians are bought and paid for by them. Same as always.
 
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