Ozempic, the appetite-suppressing injection also referred to as semaglutide, presently prices $935.77 within the U.S. with out insurance coverage. However a new analysis report from Yale College, King’s School Hospital in London, and Docs With out Borders revealed in JAMA Community Open Wednesday means that the value of the prescription drug might be lowered to a fraction of what it’s proper now, whereas nonetheless producing a revenue.
The researchers calculated cost-based costs for one month of Ozempic, administered as an injectable of 0.77 mg weekly, by combining business commerce cargo information from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2023 with the price of creating the drug, different working bills, a revenue margin, and tax. They discovered that the cost-based costs of Ozempic ranged from $0.89 to $4.73 per 30 days.
“The findings of this examine counsel that insulins, SGLT2Is, and GLP1As can possible be manufactured for costs far beneath present costs, enabling wider entry,” the researchers wrote.
A pharmacist holds a field of Novo Nordisk A/S Ozempic model semaglutide medicine. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg through Getty Photos
Ozempic prices much less exterior of the U.S. — a Bloomberg report discovered {that a} month’s provide of the injectable prices underneath $300 in Mexico.
“Outdoors the US, nations have completely different regulatory necessities with regard to the pricing of medicines, together with negotiating with respective authorities entities,” Ozempic maker Novo Nordisk advised Bloomberg.
Drug markups have lengthy come underneath nationwide scrutiny, with Martin Shkreli, the previous head of Turing Prescription drugs, pressured to pay $64 million in 2022 after inflating the value of a life-saving drug by 4,000%.
Ozempic falls underneath the class of a GLP-1 drug, which means that it addresses sort 2 diabetes by bettering blood sugar management and likewise probably resulting in weight reduction, in response to the Mayo Clinic.
Prescriptions of GLP-1 medicine elevated by 300% between 2020 and 2022, Trilliant Well being researchers discovered. Ozempic first made headlines in 2021 when it was featured on the Dr. Oz Present.
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Ozempic and different related medicine may trigger a mean weight lack of 15% to twenty%, “considerably larger than earlier choices,” as per Columbia Surgical procedure.
The identical publication warns of the life-long dedication Ozempic requires, as discontinuing the drug may result in gaining all the weight again. The drug may additionally trigger nausea, cramps, and different disagreeable unintended effects.
Regardless of the excessive value and potential downsides, Ozempic skyrocketed in recognition final 12 months, with 66% of its greater than $13 billion gross sales coming from the US, in response to Novo Nordisk’s 2023 annual report.
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