Novo Nordisk to reduce list prices of Wegovy and Ozempic in the United States by up to 50%

Novo Nordisk said Tuesday it plans to cut the monthly list prices of its popular obesity and diabetes drugs in the United States by up to 50% starting in 2027, aiming to make the treatments more accessible to patients with insurance coverage.

The Wegovy obesity injection, its new counterpart pill, the Ozempic diabetes injection and the oral diabetes medication Rybelsus will have a new, lower list price of $675 per month starting January 1, 2027. The Wegovy medications both currently have list prices of around $1,350 per month, while the diabetes medications have list prices of around $1,027 per month.

For the first time, Novo said its price reductions target insured patients whose out-of-pocket costs are tied to list prices, such as people with high-deductible health plans or coinsurance benefits.

“These two patient populations should, from the beginning [in 2027]see an advantage with lower expenses,” Jamey Millar, head of the company’s U.S. operations, told CNBC in an interview.

He added that Novo expects improvements in patient access and participation in the commercial insurance market, although the company does not give any specific expectations.

The move could help Novo better compete with Elie Lillywhich now holds the majority share of the successful GLP-1 market. Lilly’s more effective drugs and its earlier foray into the direct-to-consumer business have allowed it to take the lead in the sector, but the company has yet to significantly lower the list prices of its drugs in the United States.

It’s unclear how much commercially insured patients typically pay out of pocket for Novo’s drugs. These patients can pay as little as $25 a month for Novo’s drugs, “only in the best cases,” Millar said.

But patients on high-deductible plans would have to pay out-of-pocket “more or less the full list price of a drug until they reach that” threshold and insurance benefits kick in, he added. Millar said some of these patients are postponing treatment altogether because they don’t want to incur the expense. The number of patients using high-deductible plans has increased over the years because of falling premiums, he noted.

Meanwhile, Millar said other people have 25 to 33 percent of their coinsurance tied to the list prices of these drugs.

The Danish drugmaker has already reduced direct-to-consumer prices for Wegovy and Ozempic, primarily benefiting cash-paying patients who often lack insurance coverage for the drugs.

Novo offers its medications to cash-paying patients for $149 to $499 per month, depending on the specific product and dose. Novo and Lilly have intensified their GLP-1 pricing war over the past year, particularly following the historic “most favored nation” deals they reached with President Donald Trump in November.

The move also coincides with new, lower Medicare prices for Novo’s obesity and diabetes drugs taking effect in 2027, following negotiations with the federal government under the Inflation Reduction Act. The new negotiated prices for Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus will be $274 per month.