The chief executive officer of Novo Nordisk, the drug company that makes weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, has agreed to testify about the prices that consumers are paying for the drugs in America. This is a win for Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, who has been recently going after the companies inflating the drugs’ costs.
Sanders previously said he would subpoena Lars Jørgensen to testify; however, the CEO of the Danish company has agreed to testify voluntarily before the committee this September.
Americans pay $969 a month for Ozempic, which is used for treating Type 2 diabetes, but it’s priced at $155 in Canada and $59 in Germany, Sanders said. Wegovy, prescribed for treating diabetes, costs $1,349 a month, while sold for $140 in Germany and $92 in the United Kingdom.
“The Committee looks forward to Mr. Jørgensen explaining why Americans are paying up to ten or 15 times more for these medications than people in other countries,” Sanders said.
