Senator Sanders investigating high price of Ozempic and Wegovy in the USA

A key Senate committee has launched an investigation into how Novo Nordisk (NOV: N) prices its popular weight-loss drug semaglutide in the USA.

Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, has sent a  letter to the chief executive of Danish diabetes and obesity giant Novo Nordisk, launching an investigation into the high prices his company is charging for Ozempic and Wegovy (both of which have semaglutide as their active ingredient) in the USA.

In his letter, Chairman Sanders wrote: “The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing these drugs that have the potential to be a game changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity. As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them. Further, if the prices for these products are not substantially reduced, they have the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid and our entire health care system. The United States Congress and the federal government cannot allow that to happen.”