Combating Obesity: Weight Loss by Pill?
Big pharma has long been accused of inflating prices for life-saving drugs. Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk is the latest example.
January 7, 2025
At 33.6%, the United States has a significantly higher obesity rate than other peer nations such as Canada (21.6%), Australia (19.5%) and France (14.4%).
Ozempic is the world’s biggest-selling weight loss drug.
Novo Nordisk, the maker of Ozempic, is Europe’s most valuable company by market capitalization. In 2024, its market value — what its shares are worth — surpassed the value of Denmark's gross domestic product (GDP).
A one-month supply of Ozempic in the United States costs $969. This is at least three times what is costs, for example, in Japan ($169), Canada ($155), Denmark ($122), the UK ($93), Australia ($87) and France ($71). Prices in Germany ($59) are even lower.
The implications of these pricing differences are significant, especially considering that the United States has one of the highest rates of obesity — which increases the demand for such medications.
The drugmaker Novo Nordisk is facing charges for inflating the price for the weight loss drug Ozempic in the United States compared to prices abroad.
While many countries have government-led negotiations that result in lower drug prices, not so in the United States — where pharmaceutical companies set prices without direct negotiation.
Ozempic accounts for 42% of Novo Nordisk’s revenues. 70% comes from sales in the United States.
Sources: BBC, National Library of Medicine, Handelsblatt, Perplexity, Advisory Board, Tagesspiegel, University of California
Takeaways
Big pharma has long been accused of inflating prices for life-saving drugs. Danish drug giant Novo Nordisk is the latest example.
