--- title: "Novo Nordisk To Slash Prices On Buzzy Drugs Ozempic and Wegovy" description: "Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker responsible for Ozempic and Wegovy, is planning to slash prices amid shortages and competition." date: "2024-05-03" modified: "2024-05-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/novo-nordisk-slashes-ozempic-wegovy-price" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "RX and Medicine" tags: - "novo nordisk" - "ozempic" - "wegovy" - "Weight Loss" --- # Novo Nordisk To Slash Prices On Buzzy Drugs Ozempic and Wegovy ![Novo Nordisk, the Danish drugmaker responsible for Ozempic and Wegovy, is planning to slash prices amid shortages and competition.]() *\Image: Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty / Futurism\* Novo Nordisk, the Danish maker of the injectable diabetes drug Ozempic and its sister weight-loss medicine Wegovy, is planning to slash prices amid both shortages and increasing competition. Novo CEO Karsten Munk Knudsen, as *[Reuters ]()*[reports](), conceded that "given increasing volume and competition, net pricing like-for-like will be down in the US." Currently, Ozmepic and Wegovy both cost patients an eye-watering $1,000 or more per month, and with many insurers [still refusing]() to cover them, patients are either forced to pay big or go without. Many seeking these drugs, which use the active ingredient semaglutide that mimics the feeling of fullness in the gut, have turned to other glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists like Zepbound or Mounjaro, both made by Eli Lilly — or sought out [unregulated versions]() from [sketchy online pharmacies](). Because they're so in demand, there's been a [widespread shortage]() of both drugs in the few years they've been on the market. But as a [new paper]() in the *Journal the American Medical Association* detailed, semaglutide is actually [quite cheap]() to make. News of these apparent price cuts on the drugs comes just as the Federal Trade Commission announced that it is challenging Novo's so-called "[junk patents]()" on Ozempic and other drugs, the first step in the long path to allowing generics of the outrageously popular injectable. It also comes amid complicated financial news for the Denmark-based drugmaker, whose [stock floundered]() this week despite seeing massive sales booms on Ozempic and Wegovy. In that same [quarterly earnings call](), Novo reported sales of $9.35 billion in just the first quarter of 2024 and announced that a whopping 25,000 new patients begin taking Wegovy *per* *week.* Ozempic sales were up 42 percent, the company boasted, while Wegovy's were up a staggering 106 percent. Nevertheless, the Danish company's stock dipped more than three percent following the call — and as [*Fast Company* reports]() in its own writeup of the earnings report, Knudsen attributed that drop to its announcement that it would be increasing supply and slashing prices. News of its planned price drop, the totals of which have not yet been reported, is undeniably good news for those who've been trying to get their hands on these meme-worthy meds — even while, from a societal standpoint, it will likely continue stirring up [mixed feelings]() in the age of [body positivity](). **More on weight loss drugs:** [*Tracy Morgan Says He Actually Managed to Gain Weight on Ozempic With Superhuman Eating Abilities*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()