Science- Trendy weight-loss drugs cost much more in the US than in other countries.
- The price of semaglutide, the drug sold as Wegovy, was three times higher in the US than in the UK.
If you're searching for affordable weight-loss drugs, you may be better off looking outside of the US.
Prices for semaglutide — the brand name for buzzy prescription injections such as Ozempic and Wegovy — are far higher in the US than they are in the UK and more than a dozen countries across the globe, according to a recent study published in the journal Obesity.
The lowest price for a month's supply of semaglutide at the maximum dose for weight loss was $804 in the US— about three times higher than in the UK, the study published in February found.
Ozempic, which is a lower dose of the same drug but used to treat diabetes, is about 10 times more expensive in the US than in the UK, according to publicly available price data.
The reason for the differences between prices is simple: The UK negotiates drug prices lower while the US government does not, Andrew Hill, a researcher at the University of Liverpool who co-authored the study, said in an email.
Brand-name drugs used to treat myriad conditions, from diabetes to heart disease, cost more in the US, because the Medicare program historically was prohibited from negotiating drug prices. A new law is set to change that for a small number of drugs. Hill said that if it negotiated drug prices as the UK does, the US could save hundreds of billions of dollars.
When reached for comment, Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company that makes Wegovy and Ozempic, referred Insider to a post on its website stating that it prices medicine based on factors including medical need, how the drug compares with other available treatments, and a country's level of development and payment systems.
New weight-loss drugs are unaffordable
Wegovy and Ozempic are part of a class of weight-loss drugs known as GLP-1 agonists that have soared in popularity in recent months. Novo Nordisk's Saxenda and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro also belong to this group. Only Wegovy and Saxenda are FDA-approved for weight loss but doctors can prescribe the others "off-label" at their discretion.
These shots are more effective than previous generations of weight-loss medications. Wegovy, for example, can help users lose 15% of their body weight. They work by curbing hunger, and they must be taken long term or people regain the weight they lost.
The problem is the drugs are often unaffordable without insurance. In the US, many health insurers and companies that provide workers' health coverage refuse to pay for weight-loss medication.
Some Americans desperate for the drugs have resorted to buying them from Mexico or Canada where they're cheaper.
Drug prices are highest in the US
The variation in prices for weight-loss drugs across the world is striking. Researchers behind the February study looked at price data across 16 countries.
Semaglutide was $804 in the US for a 30-day course and $257 in the UK. The drug was the cheapest in Turkey at $95.
Drugmakers also calculated the cost of producing and selling the drug. They found that it could be sold for just $40, when considering raw ingredients, taxes, and a 10% profit margin. The researchers noted that they didn't factor in the costs of manufacturing facilities, research and development, or running a sales team.
Liraglutide, the drug sold as Saxenda, was $1,418 in the US compared with $270 in the UK. Saxenda was cheapest in Norway at a price of $252. Researchers said the drug could be manufactured and sold at $50.
Prices weren't available for tirzepatide, the drug sold as Mounjaro, outside of the US.