Reducing the cost of insulin in the US has been a great achievement, but we must, in Bidens parlance, finish the job. Ozempic and other brands of semaglutide cost five times as much in the United States as in other countries, or even more. Novo Nordisk researchers are serious about finding ways to help diabetics, but their sales department is just as greedy as the rest of Big Pharma. The other manufacturers of semaglutide products are just as greedy, but less successful in selling worldwide.
How do the prices of weight loss drugs in the United States compare to those in other countries?
Price list of drugs used to lose weight semaglutide in the United States and similar countries
|
Ozempico |
Rybelso |
Wegovy |
Mounjaro |
|
| WE | $936 | $936 | $1,349 | $1,023 |
| Japan | $169 | $69 | – | $319 |
| Canada | $147 | $158 | – | – |
| Swiss | $144 | $147 | – | – |
| Germany | $103 | – | $328 | – |
| Holland | $103 | $203 | $296 | $444 |
| Sweden | $96 | $103 | – | – |
| United Kingdom | $93 | – | – | – |
| Australia | $87 | – | – | – |
| France | $83 | – | – | – |
Note: List prices in $USD based on web searches as of August 15, 2023. Prices are for one month’s supply of Ozempic 1 mg, Rybelus 7 mg, Wegovy 2.4 mg, and Mounjaro 15 mg. Some medicines are not available in all countries and it was not possible to find prices in other countries. Some drugs are approved for diabetes and prescribed off-label for weight loss.
These are the prices for a three month supply.
My father and mentor both died of diabetes complications after decades of declining health, including terrible neuropathy. I have been taking various diabetes medications for 26 years now, with no serious complications. Some tingling in the toes, but no full-blown, sensationless neuropathy. An occasional sore that takes a long time to heal. I currently take glipizide twice a day, insulin only if my blood sugar rises, and Ozempic once a week.
I’m also wearing an Abbott Labs Freestyle Libre 3 Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM). It talks to my cell phone via Bluetooth, so I have a continuous record of my blood sugar levels. The app can alert me if my blood sugar is high or low long before I know it, so I can eat some of my favorite carbs or take a shot of insulin as needed. Maybe a glucose tablet or two.
The app offers other views of that history, including time within range and a measure called GMI (glucose management indicator). GMI is designed to have the same range as A1C and to give similar numbers. It is based on continuous glucose measurement, not laboratory measurements of glucose linked to hemoglobin. My readings were between 6 and 7 most of the time. As I write this, I’m at 6.5.
I’m lucky. I can get four doses of Ozempic with my insurance for $191.42 at CVS, but not from numerous other pharmacies. Would be $307.43/28 days on Express Scripts online.
Ozempic and Wegovy maker lobby Congress to get Medicare to cover its weight-loss drugs
Medicare price negotiations
The price negotiation program, instituted by Democrats as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, is expected to save the government tens of billions of dollars over the next few years.
Selected drugs for price negotiations
1. Eliquisto prevent strokes and blood clots, by Bristol Myers Squibb and Pfizer
2. jardiancefor diabetes and heart failure, by Boehringer Ingelheim and Eli Lilly
3. Xarelto, to prevent strokes and blood clots, by Johnson & Johnson
4. Januviafor diabetes, from Merck
5. Farxigafor diabetes, heart failure and chronic kidney disease, from AstraZeneca
6. Entrestofor heart failure, by Novartis
7. Enbrelfor arthritis and other autoimmune conditions, from Amgen
8. It gets darkfor blood cancers, by AbbVie and Johnson & Johnson
9. Stellarafor Crohn’s disease, by Johnson & Johnson
10. Fiasp AND NovoLog insulin products, for diabetes, by Novo Nordisk
This news story just came out after finishing the initial version of this diary. There are five diabetes drugs on that list, including two from Novo Nordisk. Again, as Biden always says,
Finish the job.
There will be 15 more drugs on the list in 2024 and again in 2025, and 20 a year thereafter. Negotiations on the top 10 begin today and are due to be completed by September 2024. The whoops from Big Pharma have begun.
Request for assistance
I’d be interested if anyone here knows a brand of good and really durable waffle pillows. I’ve had good experiences with the hospital ones, but all the consumer versions I’ve tried have caused irreparable losses very quickly. Maybe we can put our experiences together in a journal.
Future Diaries
There will be a lot of news about diabetes care and Medicare, continuous glucose monitors, a stupid lawsuit by Big Pharma against Medicare price negotiation, and more. I’ve been messaging Lynnekz to do a series on all of this on a Wednesday or Friday.
As a friend of the Good News group regularly says, I love living in the future. Today we celebrate Medicare’s ability to begin negotiating drug prices in the Good News Roundup and various other venues around DKos.
#Kos #diabetes #group #ozempica #ripoff
Image Source : www.dailykos.com