Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelus are significantly more expensive in the US than in other wealthy countries – up to 10 times more expensive.
An analysis of prices in 10 countries by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) found that a monthly supply of Ozempic — which is approved for the treatment of diabetes but often prescribed off-label for weight loss — has a list price of $936 in the US. USA. .
A list price is the price the drug’s manufacturer publicly charges when selling to wholesalers, who buy drugs from manufacturers to sell to pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics.
While the list price doesn’t necessarily reflect what consumers will pay, patients often have to pay more to offset the price set by the manufacturer.
A month’s supply of Rybelsus, a tablet rather than injection form of Ozempic’s same active ingredient, semaglutide, costs $936 in the US.
Of the nine other countries KFF looked at, all paid less than $170 for the same amount of the same drug.
Ozempic is available in all 10 countries KFF viewed: US, Japan, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, UK, Australia and France.
It was five times more expensive in the US than in Japan ($169), which has the second highest list price.
Meanwhile, Wegovy, which is approved to treat diabetes and weight loss, is currently only available in the US, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Wegovy is almost four times more expensive in America, priced at $1,349 for a month’s supply, than in Germany, where it costs $328.
In the Netherlands, Wegovy is priced even lower at $296 for a month.
A month’s supply of Rybelsus, a tablet rather than an injection form of Ozempic’s active ingredient, also costs $936 in the US. In Japan, Rybelsus costs just $69.
Even with a cost-cutting program, KFF said U.S. patients will still pay $225 for a 28-day supply of Wegovy if their health insurance covers the drug. If it’s not covered, they’ll have to pay more than double, which is $500 for a month’s supply.
Wegovy, Ozempic, and Rybelus are all brand names of the drug semaglutide, which is manufactured by the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk.
Semaglutide mimics a hormone called GLP-1 that is released in response to food intake and stimulates insulin production while simultaneously suppressing users’ appetites.
The high price of the drug in the US may also be due to demand.
Ozempic’s sales in the US are so high that they prompt Denmark to keep interest rates low because of the massive inflow of foreign currency.
The KFF analysis said: ‘The impact of these drugs on the total cost of health in a country will depend not only on the net prices for the drugs, but also on the number of people using them.’