President Donald Trump announced on Thursday a swath of reduced pricing on a new and popular weight loss drug, calling it a “triumph for American patients that will save lives.”
The president said that pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have agreed to offer the GLP-1 weight loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy at “drastic discounts” that put the medication on par with Most Favored Nations pricing.
GLP-1 drugs have become increasingly popular with Americans struggling to lose weight. Over the past year, national use of GLP-1 medicines have increased by 600 percent, according to Axios.
“This is very exciting, because we’re, again, bringing drug prices down to a level that nobody even thought was possible,” President Trump said.
The president stated that Americans have been spending “as much as 520 percent more for Zepbound and 1,400 percent more” for Wegovy compared to patients in Europe.
“That ends starting today,” he remarked.
President Trump said that Medicare and Medicaid will “finally cover” the costs of these drugs and bring prices down, which currently cost over $1,000 per month out of pocket for most patients.
For example, the president noted that Wegovy will drop from $1,350 to $250 per month.
He also said that these deeply discounted drugs will be available for purchase on TrumpRX.gov by the end of the year.
Finally, President Trump announced that Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk have agreed to offer all newly developed medications to Americans at the “heavily reduced Most Favored Nations prices.” Both companies will also invest billions of dollars in domestic manufacturing ($27 billion investment from Eli Lilly and $10 billion from Novo Nordisk).
During his remarks, the president referenced an executive order he signed earlier this year, which instructed his administration to do everything possible to implement Most Favored Nation drug prices for American medications. This drug price discount on GLP-1 medication is a direct effect of that EO.
Just a few weeks ago, the president sealed a deal with drug company Pfizer, facilitating discounts on prescription drug medications for American patients, reducing prices by 50 to 100 percent. This deal also included a $70 billion investment from Pfizer in domestic manufacturing.