Trump floats $150 monthly price for GLP-1 drugs, sending Lilly and Novo shares lower

President Donald Trump said he wants the monthly price of brand-name GLP-1 weight-loss medicines to be about $150, and shares of the companies that make them fell the next trading day ^[1][2].

Speaking Thursday at a White House event about in vitro fertilization, Trump contrasted what the same medicine costs abroad with the U.S. price. He cited a London figure of $130, "and even less than that ... $88 as of... a month ago," against $1,300 in New York, and said people would instead pay about $150 ^[1]. Asked by a reporter which drug he meant, he answered, "I was referring to Ozempic or ... the fat loss drug" ^[1]. Reuters reported he said prices would be "much lower" and that he had earlier described a cut for Ozempic from $1,300 to $150 ^[2].

Ozempic is approved to treat diabetes, and its active ingredient, semaglutide, is the same one in Wegovy, Novo Nordisk's obesity treatment. Because Ozempic is often prescribed off-label for weight loss, it frequently stands in for the whole category in public discussion ^[2]. A month's supply has a list price of roughly $1,000, though Novo sells it directly to cash-paying customers at $499 a month ^[2]. Lilly and Novo Nordisk also sell discounted versions of their diabetes and weight-loss products through their own direct-to-consumer sites at about $500 a month ^[1].

Dr. Mehmet Oz, who runs the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was at the same event and made clear that nothing is settled. "We have not negotiated those yet ... We're going to be rolling these out over time, the GLP category of drugs, which includes Ozempic have not been negotiated yet," he said ^[1]. Reuters reported the same position, that the agency has not finished negotiating prices for the class, which includes Ozempic, Wegovy and Lilly's Mounjaro ^[2].

Investors sold the stocks. Lilly closed 2% lower Friday and Novo Nordisk's U.S. shares fell 3%, while Hims & Hers Health, a telehealth company that sells compounded GLP-1s, dropped more than 15%, according to CNBC ^[1]. Reuters, tracking Novo's Copenhagen listing, put the decline at 6.3% to 343 crowns after touching a near three-week low of 342.30, with Lilly off more than 3%, Zealand Pharma down almost 7% and Viking Therapeutics down about 2% ^[2]. The two outlets reported different declines for Novo Nordisk and Lilly.

Analysts described the number as an opening bid. Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen called it a "negotiating lever" and wrote that the $150 price "is not yet set-in stone" ^[2]. Kevin Gade, chief operating officer at the investment firm Bahl & Gaynor, said it is hard to know whether the president named the figure to bring the obesity drugmakers to the table or expects it to be the final price ^[2]. UBS analysts said their forecasts already account for potential U.S. price cuts ^[2].

Novo said it is in discussions with the administration about its "most favored nation" order, under which the government would require drugmakers to charge U.S. patients no more than they charge in other wealthy countries. Lilly said it is also in talks and had no specific details to share ^[2]. Both companies were among 17 large U.S. drugmakers that received letters after Trump's executive order on that policy, and Pfizer and AstraZeneca have since struck pricing deals with the administration ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Most people who take GLP-1s without insurance coverage pay cash. Branded products bought through the manufacturers' own sites cost about $500 a month, and compounded versions sold by telehealth providers such as Hims & Hers run roughly $130 to $200 a month ^[1]. A branded price of $150 would compete directly with the compounded market, which CNBC reported could have a major effect on how patients buy these drugs ^[1].

Job-based coverage remains limited. About one in five large employers offer GLP-1s for weight loss, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey, and two-thirds of those that do say the drugs have had a "significant" impact on their prescription drug spending ^[1].

Nothing has changed at the pharmacy counter yet. No list price or cash price for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro or Zepbound has moved because of the president's remarks, and no product has been tied to the $150 figure.

What happens next

Oz said the GLP-1 category would be rolled out "over time," and the agency has not given a timetable for negotiations ^[1]. Whether any agreement covering these drugs is reached, and at what price, has not been reported.