Elon Musk and Bernie Sanders agree on one thing: Ozempic
The health benefits of blockbuster weight loss drugs are bridging the stark political divide in the United States.
Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said on Tuesday, in a Senate committee hearing on high anti-obesity drug prices, that he agreed with Elon Musk, a supporter of Former President Donald Trump, when it comes to expanding access to GLP-1 weight loss drugs.
These treatments, which mimic a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar, have shown remarkable effectiveness in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes. The most popular GLP-1 drugs on the market are Ozempic (NVO) and Wegovy, both of which are produced by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk.
“Solving obesity greatly reduces risk of other diseases, especially diabetes, and improves quality of life. We do need to find a way to make appetite inhibitors available to anyone who wants them,” Musk posted last week on X (TSLA), the social media platform he owns.
Isn’t there a generic version that costs much less?
Solving obesity greatly reduces risk of other diseases, especially diabetes, and improves quality of life. We do need to find a way to make appetite inhibitors available to anyone who wants them.
I don’t agree with Bernie…— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 17, 2024
The post was made in response to a post about Sen. Sanders claiming that generic drug companies have said they can sell cheaper versions of these medications for less than $100 a month.
In the U.S., the list price — a drug’s price without health insurance — for Ozempic is $968.52 for a month’s supply. The list price of Wegovy in the U.S. is $1,349.02. The cost of these popular medications is already much cheaper in other countries. For example, Ozempic is just $59 in Germany and Wegovy is only $92 in the U.K.
“I don’t agree with Bernie about many things, but I do on this,” Musk wrote.
Sen. Sanders grilled Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen Tuesday morning during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), regarding what the company charges for its blockbuster drugs in the U.S.
Sen. Sanders said that Novo Nordisk has made $50 billion in sales from Ozempic and Wegovy since 2018 — with 72% of that revenue coming from U.S. sales, Sen. Sanders said at Tuesday’s hearing.
“In other words, the United States is Novo Nordisk’s cash cow for Ozempic and Wegovy,” Sen. Sanders said.
At one point, Sen. Sanders quoted Musk’s tweet and said that “Mr. Musk is right.”
Later that day, Musk posted on X that he really is “with Bernie on this one.”
