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Why Novo Nordisk’s CEO Testified About Ozempic and Wegovy Prices

A Senate hearing challenged Novo Nordisk over Ozempic and Wegovy prices. Here’s what the 2024 committee figures showed—and what the CEO said in response.
From TheFinanceBase Team4 min to read
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Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen testified voluntarily before the Senate HELP Committee on September 24, 2024, after pressure from Sen. Bernie Sanders over the U.S. prices of Ozempic and Wegovy. The committee’s 2024 report cited monthly U.S. prices of $969 for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy, but those were historical figures—not current prices or a measure of what every patient paid out of pocket.

What happened at the Senate hearing?

The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing titled “Why Is Novo Nordisk Charging Americans with Diabetes and Obesity Outrageously High Prices for Ozempic and Wegovy?” on September 24, 2024. The hearing began at 10 a.m. in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Jørgensen, then Novo Nordisk’s president and CEO, was the sole listed witness. The committee’s hearing page and the published hearing record document the event.

Sanders had announced on June 14, 2024, that Jørgensen had agreed to testify voluntarily after a subpoena vote was scheduled. Sanders said the committee would cancel the vote. The appearance followed political pressure, but it was not compelled by a subpoena. Sanders’s announcement describes the agreement.

What prices did Sanders and the committee challenge?

A Senate HELP Committee majority staff report published on September 24, 2024, listed monthly U.S. prices of $969 for Ozempic and $1,349 for Wegovy. It compared them with selected prices abroad. These are the report’s historical figures and comparisons, not independently verified current prices or patients’ out-of-pocket costs.

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Medicine U.S. monthly price cited by committee staff Selected prices cited by committee staff
Ozempic $969 Germany: $59; France: $71; Denmark: $122; Canada: $155
Wegovy $1,349 United Kingdom: $92; Germany: $137; Denmark: $186; Canada: $265

All amounts in the table are the monthly prices reported by Senate HELP majority staff in 2024. The report’s figures should not be read as a present-day price quote, a like-for-like estimate of every patient’s cost, or a guarantee of what a person would pay in any country. The committee’s report contains its comparisons and definitions.

Before the hearing, Sanders framed the disparity as a question of fairness: “The Committee looks forward to Mr. Jørgensen answering a very simple question: Why does he think it’s acceptable to charge Americans up to 10 or 15 times more for Ozempic and Wegovy than people in Europe and other major countries?” That was Sanders’s statement ahead of the hearing, not a finding that every U.S. patient paid 10 or 15 times what every overseas patient paid. The committee’s report also said that 194 million Americans had insurance that did not cover the drugs, citing a 2024 database it described as representing nearly 88% of covered U.S. lives. That estimate reflects the report’s account of the database, not a count of uninsured people.

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Why list price is not the same as what a patient pays

The disagreement is easier to understand when four different price and access concepts are separated:

  • List price: The stated price before discounts or rebates. The committee’s U.S. figures were presented as monthly prices; they do not establish an individual’s final bill.
  • Net price: The amount a manufacturer says it receives after applicable discounts and rebates. This is not necessarily disclosed in a way that maps directly to a patient’s cost.
  • Insurance coverage: Whether a plan covers a medicine, and under what conditions. A covered drug may still involve cost sharing or eligibility requirements; lack of coverage can leave a patient facing a different price.
  • Out-of-pocket cost: What a particular patient pays, which can depend on insurance, coverage rules, and the patient’s circumstances.

As a result, a high list price can be relevant to people without coverage while not matching the copay reported by some insured patients. Conversely, a company’s average or selected copay claim does not show that everyone can obtain coverage or afford treatment.

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What Novo Nordisk said in response

In his written testimony for the hearing, Jørgensen offered a different affordability frame. He said Novo Nordisk’s U.S. net price for Ozempic had fallen about 40% since its 2018 introduction, defining net price as the amount the company is actually paid. He also said more than 80% of insured U.S. patients with coverage for Ozempic or Wegovy paid $25 or less per prescription. These were company claims in his testimony, not independent estimates of what every patient pays.

“Since Ozempic® was first introduced in 2018, the net price—the amount that Novo Nordisk is actually paid for our medicines—has declined by about 40 percent in the U.S.”

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Jørgensen also argued that the complexity of the U.S. healthcare system reduced access and affordability for many people. His testimony therefore did not simply dispute the reported list prices; it emphasized net prices, insurance coverage, and the gap between a manufacturer’s price and an insured patient’s copay. His written testimony sets out the company’s position.

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What the committee said about insurers and pharmacy benefit managers

Sanders and the HELP majority staff argued that insurers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) were not the reason for the drugs’ list prices. The committee’s September 2024 report said all three major PBMs had committed that lowering the list prices would not negatively affect Ozempic and Wegovy’s placement on their formularies. That is the committee’s account of the PBMs’ commitments, not a guarantee about every plan’s coverage decisions or an independent resolution of the broader pricing debate. The report describes the committee’s position.

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  • Customizable: Adjustable dose settings cater to individual needs, providing flexibility in treatment.
  • Portable: Its lightweight and discreet design make it easy to carry and use on-the-go.

What the hearing does—and does not—tell patients now

The hearing establishes that Congress publicly challenged Novo Nordisk over the U.S. pricing of Ozempic and Wegovy, and that the company defended its approach using net-price and insured-patient cost claims. It does not establish what either medicine costs in 2026, whether a specific insurance plan covers it, or what a particular patient would pay today. Anyone making a current treatment or budgeting decision needs current pricing and coverage information from the relevant insurer, pharmacy, or prescriber rather than relying on a 2024 committee comparison.

Sanders had launched the committee investigation on April 24, 2024. His announcement set out the inquiry that led to the hearing.

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