Americans will have better access to popular weight-loss drugs Zepbound and Wegovy, after US President Donald Trump unveiled a deal with drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.
Known as GLP-1 receptor agonists, the drugs have soared in popularity in recent years, but patient access has been a consistent problem because of their cost — around $500 a month for higher doses — and insurance coverage has been spotty. More than 100 million American adults are obese, according to federal estimates.
Coverage of the drugs will expand to Medicare patients starting next year, according to the administration, which said some lower prices will also be phased in for patients without coverage.
Starting doses of new, pill versions of the treatments also will cost $149 a month if they are approved.
“(It) will save lives and improve the health of millions and millions of Americans,” said Trump, in an Oval Office announcement in which he referred to GLP-1s as a “fat drug.”
Thursday’s announcement is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to rein in soaring drug prices in its efforts to address cost-of-living concerns among voters.
Pfizer and AstraZeneca recently agreed to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Medicaid after an executive order in May set a deadline for drugmakers to electively lower prices or face new limits on what the government will pay.
The obesity drugs work by targeting hormones in the gut and brain that affect appetite and feelings of fullness. In clinical trials, they helped people shed 15 per cent to 22 per cent of their body weight.
“Trump is the friend of the forgotten American,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr at Thursday’s announcement. “Obesity is a disease of poverty. And overwhelmingly, these drugs have only been available for people who have wealth.”
(Obesity rates actually are slightly higher for middle-income Americans than they are for those with the lowest and highest incomes, according to 2017-2020 data collected by the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.)
Kennedy had previously expressed scepticism about GLP-1s, but he was full of praise for Trump for pushing to help a broader segment of Americans have access to the drug.
The drug-pricing announcement came days after Democrats swept elections in races across the country. Economic worries were the dominant concern for those casting their ballots, according to findings from the AP voter poll.
The White House sought to diminish price-reduction efforts by the previous Democratic administration as a gift to the pharmaceutical industry.
Trump, instead, consummated a deal that ensures Americans aren’t unfairly financing the pharmaceutical industry’s innovation, claimed a senior administration official, who briefed reporters ahead of Thursday’s Oval Office announcement.
Doctors who treat patients for obesity say help is needed to improve access. Dr. Leslie Golden says she has roughly 600 patients taking one of these treatments, and at least 75 per cent struggle to afford them.