How do US GLP-1 prices compare internationally?
Senator Sanders noted Ozempic was $969/month in the US vs $59 in Germany, and Wegovy $1,349 vs $92 in the UK — with a Yale study estimating the drugs could be profitably manufactured for under $5 a month.
US list prices are many times higher. At a September 2024 Senate HELP Committee hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders noted Novo Nordisk charged $969 a month for Ozempic in the US, compared with $155 in Canada, $122 in Denmark, $71 in France and $59 in Germany, and $1,349 a month for Wegovy versus $92 in the UK. Lilly's Zepbound and Novo's Wegovy had wholesale prices around $1,000 a month. Sanders cited a Yale study estimating the drugs could be profitably manufactured for less than $5 a month. He argued that if half of US adults took them, the cost could reach $411 billion a year. Novo's CEO said it has little control over what patients pay, pointing to insurers and PBMs.