Sen. Bernie Sanders is taking aim at the high prices of the blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
The Vermont senator, an independent who has long called out drug manufacturers for their costly products, is launching an investigation into the “outrageously high prices” Novo Nordisk charges for the drugs.
“The scientists at Novo Nordisk deserve great credit for developing these drugs that have the potential to be a game changer for millions of Americans struggling with type 2 diabetes and obesity. As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them,” Sanders, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, wrote Wednesday in a letter to the drugmaker’s CEO. “Further, if the prices for these products are not substantially reduced, they also have the potential to bankrupt Medicare, Medicaid, and our entire health care system.”
People need these meds to live healthy lives, but since a side effects is weight loss, the price got jacked up and the people who need it can’t afford it
Just another example of why only a psychopath would want a for profit healthcare system
Hell on the whole most Americans would benefit from this drug and losing a good few pounds.
I get that med patents are a necessary evil to incentivize pharmaceuticals to invest in R&D, but the patents should be exceptionally short if the company does not accept price controls.
Medications, even ones like this which are not “necessary” but nonetheless beneficial to the quality of life for millions of people, should be universally accessible, especially knowing how little it actually costs for these companies to manufacture them.
As important as these drugs are, they will not do any good for the millions of patients who cannot afford them
So, perfectly in line with the rest their for-profit healthcare system then.
It really is a bit of a joke at this point to insist on not addressing the systemic issues and instead focus on a single medication or treatment (especially when there are significantly more important ones out there to fight for than the fad diet du jour, a “quick fix” there to cut quality and costs of care).
This reeks to high heaven of “lobbying”, and even if that’s not the case, it is a very odd and counterproductive populism hill to die on, another useless band aid on a brain tumour.
Nobody has a magic wand to wave and make it perfect. Is your argument that incremental improvement is worthless?
