Novo Nordisk slashing prices for weight-loss and diabetes drugs Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus

Novo Nordisk announced Tuesday it will be slashing the list price of its blockbuster GLP-1 medications, Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, by up to 50 percent beginning next year.

Starting on Jan. 1, 2027, the list price for Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus, Novo’s semaglutide products, will be $675 across the board in the U.S.

This reduction represents a 50 percent cut for oral and injectable Wegovy, with current list prices of $1,349.02. It’s a 34 percent cut for Ozempic and Ryeblsus, which are both currently priced at $1,027.51.

“Lowering the list price of Wegovy® and Ozempic® is the best approach to address the unprecedented opportunity to help more than 100 million people living with obesity and over 35 million people with type 2 diabetes in the United States. Private and public payers, as well as patients, want access and have been calling for lower list prices,” Jamey Millar, executive vice president of Novo Nordisk’s U.S. operation, said in a statement.

Due to high demand and interest, Novo has sought avenues to make its blockbuster line of semglutide products available at lower prices, launching direct-to-consumer portals and collaborations with telemedicine platforms to offer the drug without the autoinjector.

Federal government pressures to lower prices have also come into play.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) selected semaglutide for Medicare negotiations last year. In November, CMS unveiled it had negotiated a a 71 percent discount on a 30-day supply of semaglutide for Medicare, going from $959 to $274. These prices are scheduled to go into effect at the start of 2027.

The Trump administration additionally pushed several companies, including Novo, to enter into “Most Favored Nation” (MFN) drug pricing agreements last year, with manufacturers agreeing to sell their GLP-1 injectables for a monthly starting price starting of $245 for people on Medicare and Medicaid.

While President Trump’s MFN policy called for drug companies to “offer American consumers the most-favored-nation lowest price,” a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk told The Hill that this slash in costs is unrelated to the company’s MFN agreement with the administration.

“Private and public payers, as well as patients, want access and have been calling for lower list prices. This action answers that call and removes cost barriers so the value of semaglutide can be realized by more patients. It is intended to connect more people with our innovative medicines specifically those whose out-of-pocket costs are linked to list price, such as individuals with high-deductible health plans or co-insurance benefit designs,” the Novo spokesperson said.