President Biden and Senator Sanders publish a joint op-ed naming Lilly and Novo Nordisk over GLP-1 prices

President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders published a joint op-ed on July 2, 2024, accusing Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly of charging "unconscionably high prices" for GLP-1 drugs used for diabetes and obesity, and warning that the government will "do everything within our power" to force price cuts if the companies do not act on their own ^[1].

The op-ed singled out Eli Lilly's Mounjaro, saying its price is roughly $1,100 a month ^[1]. It also criticized Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy, saying their U.S. prices can be several times higher than prices for the same drugs in Canada, Germany, and Denmark ^[1]. The authors cited a March analysis from Yale University researchers finding these drugs could be profitably manufactured for less than $5 a month, or $57 a year ^[1].

Biden and Sanders also pointed to Novo Nordisk's financial results, noting the company made more than $12 billion in profit in 2023, and said 10 top pharmaceutical companies combined made over $110 billion in profits that year ^[1]. They argued that at current prices, wider use of these drugs could strain public budgets: if half of adults with obesity took Wegovy and similar drugs, the annual cost could reach $411 billion, and if half of Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries with obesity took these drugs, spending by those two programs could hit $166 billion a year, rivaling total 2022 retail prescription drug spending under both programs ^[1].

The op-ed also detailed recent policy moves the two leaders credited to their work together, including the Inflation Reduction Act's $35-a-month cap on insulin for seniors with diabetes, a $2,000 annual cap on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare enrollees set to start in January, and a new Medicare negotiation process for some high-cost drugs ^[1]. They said they are pursuing legislation to expand that negotiation process to cover at least 50 drugs a year and to extend the $2,000 annual cap to more than just seniors ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

For people currently paying list price for Mounjaro, Ozempic, or Wegovy, this op-ed does not change what they pay right now. It is a public pressure statement, not a new law or executive order. The op-ed itself acknowledges that actual net prices paid may differ from list prices because of "opaque discounting mechanisms run through middlemen," meaning the $1,100 figure cited for Mounjaro reflects a list price that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers may negotiate down for some patients ^[1].

Patients weighing the cost of these drugs should know that affordability has become a central political issue, with both a sitting president and a sitting senator naming the manufacturers directly and threatening intervention. Whether that translates into lower prices, expanded insurance coverage, or new negotiation rules is not yet known from this source. The op-ed frames high U.S. list prices against much lower prices in other wealthy countries, which is a comparison patients may see repeated in ongoing debates over U.S. drug costs ^[1].

What happens next

Biden and Sanders say they are working on legislation to expand Medicare drug price negotiation to at least 50 drugs a year, up from the smaller initial set already negotiated under the Inflation Reduction Act, and to extend the $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap beyond seniors ^[1]. The $2,000 cap for Medicare enrollees is set to begin in January, according to the op-ed ^[1]. No specific timeline or mechanism for lowering Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro prices directly is described in this source, and neither Novo Nordisk nor Eli Lilly's response is included here.