Lower list prices aim to ease GLP-1 costs for high-deductible and coinsurance patients
Insured Americans using GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus face a major shift in list-price exposure in 2027, as Novo Nordisk moves to cut US list prices by up to 50 percent for key obesity and diabetes therapies.
According to CNN, Novo Nordisk plans to reduce the US monthly list price for the Wegovy injection, the new Wegovy pill, the Ozempic injection and the oral diabetes drug Rybelsus to US$675 starting January 1, 2027.
Wegovy’s list price is currently US$1,349 and that Ozempic and Rybelsus have list prices of US$1,028, while CNBC said the Wegovy medicines have list prices of around US$1,350 and the diabetes drugs around US$1,027.
Novo Nordisk said it is targeting insured patients whose out-of-pocket costs are tied directly to list prices, including people with high-deductible health plans or coinsurance based on list price.
Jamey Millar, the company’s head of US operations, told CNBC that “both of these patient populations should, beginning [in 2027], see a benefit with lower out-of-pocket burdens.”
He also said some patients in high-deductible plans pay “more or less the full list price of a drug until they reach” their deductible and that some defer treatment because of that.
Some people have 25 percent to 33 percent of their coinsurance linked to list prices.
The move coincides with new Medicare pricing.
Reuters said Novo Nordisk had to negotiate its 2027 prices in the Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or with disabilities under the Inflation Reduction Act, while CNBC reported that the new negotiated Medicare prices for Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus will be US$274 per month starting in 2027.
Direct-to-consumer and self-pay prices will not change under this list-price move.
Reuters reported that Novo sells Wegovy for about US$349 on its site, about one-third of its official list price.
CNN said Wegovy pills through direct-to-consumer channels range from US$149 to US$299 a month depending on dosage, while the Wegovy injectable pen costs US$349 a month, with a discounted US$199 price for new patients for the first two months.
The Ozempic injectable pen costs between US$349 and US$499 a month depending on dosage, with new self-pay patients paying US$199 for the first two months.
CNBC said Novo offers its drugs to cash-paying patients for US$149 to US$499 a month depending on the specific product and dose.
Analysts see limits to the impact.
Citi analyst Geoffrey Meacham said the price cut is likely to benefit only a relatively small portion of new prescriptions compared to cash-pay channels, which hold “an overwhelming share,” according to Reuters.
Bernstein analyst Courtney Breen said, “This isn't a silver bullet for Novo and in our view doesn't constitute the beginning of a price war, particularly with the White House deal providing a soft-floor for the next three years.”
All of this sits inside an increasingly competitive GLP-1 market.
CNN reported that Eli Lilly now captures more new prescriptions for obesity medications.
Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been lowering their prices for people willing to pay cash and forgo insurance, and both signed “Most Favored Nation” deals with the Trump administration that included expanded access to Medicare patients.
Reuters said both companies also signed deals with the US government to cut prices this year and sell through TrumpRx.gov, a website that sends consumers to their direct-to-consumer websites.
Novo and Lilly face competition from cheaper compounded versions offered by telehealth platforms such as Hims & Hers, which can make and sell the drugs in personalized doses or compositions.
US-listed Novo Nordisk shares were down 2.6 percent, while Eli Lilly’s shares were 1 percent lower in morning trading after the developments.
Earlier this month Novo Nordisk warned its profits and sales could drop as much as 13 percent this year, marking its first declines in years.
