U.S. President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders called on Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to reduce the prices of their weight loss and diabetes drugs, in an opinion piece by them published in USA Today Tuesday.
A 2 milligram package of Ozempic carries a list price of $935.77 in the U.S., while Wegovy is priced at $1,349.02 per package, according to the drugmaker's website. Eli Lilly's Mounjaro costs roughly $1,100 per month.
"If the prices of these drugs are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt the American health care system," they said. "Novo Nordisk must substantially reduce the price of Ozempic and Wegovy."
Novo and Eli Lilly did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Shares of the Danish drugmaker fell more than 1.5%, while rival Eli Lilly fell 2% in U.S. premarket trading.
High U.S. prescription drug prices have long been under the scrutiny of lawmakers on both side of the aisle. Biden, a Democrat, has made lowering healthcare costs a key part of his 2024 re-election campaign.
Sanders, as chairman of the U.S. Senate's health committee, has already taken a series of actions - from sending letters to holding hearings - aimed at pressuring the pharmaceutical industry to lower costs.
He sent a letter in April to Novo President Doug Langa seeking more information on U.S. prices for Ozempic and Wegovy.
As millions seek access to weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Lilly, increasing supplies, possible wider usage and a growing number of would-be rivals are leading some experts to raise annual global sales forecasts for the treatments to about $150 billion by the early 2030s.
The Biden administration has initiated price negotiations on a list of 10 high-cost drugs for the U.S. Medicare program, which currently does not include weight loss drugs.