Popular Appetite Suppressant Ozempic Can Be Made For Less Than $5 a Month, New Research Suggests

Ozempic, nan appetite-suppressing injection besides known arsenic semaglutide, presently costs $935.77 successful nan U.S. without insurance. But a new investigation report from Yale University, King's College Hospital successful London, and Doctors Without Borders published successful JAMA Network Open Wednesday suggests that nan value of nan medicine supplier could beryllium lowered to a fraction of what it is correct now, while still generating a profit.

The researchers calculated cost-based prices for 1 period of Ozempic, administered arsenic an injectable of 0.77 mg weekly, by combining commercialized waste and acquisition shipment information from January 1, 2016 to March 31, 2023 pinch nan costs of creating nan drug, different operating expenses, a profit margin, and tax. They recovered that nan cost-based prices of Ozempic ranged from $0.89 to $4.73 per month.

"The findings of this study propose that insulins, SGLT2Is, and GLP1As tin apt beryllium manufactured for prices acold beneath existent prices, enabling wider access," nan researchers wrote.

A pharmacist holds a container of Novo Nordisk A/S Ozempic marque semaglutide medication. Photographer: George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Ozempic costs little extracurricular of nan U.S. — a Bloomberg study recovered that a month's proviso of nan injectable costs nether $300 successful Mexico.

"Outside nan US, countries person different regulatory requirements pinch respect to nan pricing of medicines, including negotiating pinch respective authorities entities," Ozempic shaper Novo Nordisk told Bloomberg.

Related: FDA Has Seized 'Thousands' of Fake Units of Ozempic Amid Reported Cases of 'Adverse Reactions' successful Patients

Drug markups person agelong travel nether nationalist scrutiny, pinch Martin Shkreli, nan erstwhile caput of Turing Pharmaceuticals, forced to salary $64 million successful 2022 aft inflating nan value of a life-saving supplier by 4,000%.

Ozempic falls nether nan class of a GLP-1 drug, meaning that it addresses type 2 glucosuria by improving humor sweetener power and besides perchance starring to weight loss, according to nan Mayo Clinic.

Prescriptions of GLP-1 narcotics accrued by 300% betwixt 2020 and 2022, Trilliant Health researchers found. Ozempic first made headlines successful 2021 erstwhile it was featured connected nan Dr. Oz Show.

Related: Novo Nordisk, nan Maker of Ozempic, Is Suing Spas and Clinics For Allegedly Selling Knockoffs

Ozempic and different akin narcotics could origin an mean weight nonaccomplishment of 15% to 20%, "significantly higher than erstwhile options," arsenic per Columbia Surgery.

The aforesaid publication warns of nan life-long committedness Ozempic requires, arsenic discontinuing nan supplier could lead to gaining each of nan weight back. The supplier could besides origin nausea, cramps, and different unpleasant broadside effects.

Despite nan precocious costs and imaginable downsides, Ozempic skyrocketed successful fame past year, pinch 66% of its much than $13 cardinal income coming from nan US, according to Novo Nordisk's 2023 annual report.

Related: Novo Nordisk Is Worth More Than Denmark's GDP Thanks to America's Ozempic and Wegovy Craze