Congressman Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has been known to tussle with public companies over their high prices or anticompetitive behavior, including pharmaceutical companies and their high costs.
In his newest battle, Sanders is taking on the growing popularity of weight-loss drugs and diabetes treatments.
What Happened: Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro have soared in interest from consumers as the approved diabetes treatments have shown success with helping people lose weight over time.
Sanders, who was a former presidential candidate, serves as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. According to a report from Stat News, Sanders will hold a new hearing next week targeting diabetes and the issue of weight loss drugs.
The news comes after Sanders battled with insulin manufacturers earlier this year over affordability for consumers.
The hearing will focus on the rise of diabetes in Americans, especially children, and also look at the rise of GLP-1 medications that treat Type 2 diabetes and have been shown to help with weight loss, as shared by The Hill.
"Focusing on why we are seeing a huge increase, and have seen a huge increase over the last 30 years, in the number of diabetics in this country, and the relationship to that explosion … with what our kids are eating," Sanders told The Hill.
Along with helping with diabetes, the GLP-1 medications have shown uses like weight loss and lowering heart risks. Sanders said he would like to explore the uses for the drugs and their high costs.
"They're apparently very significant drugs that could be helpful, but they're not going to be helpful if people can't afford them. And then the question is why we are paying in some cases eight times more for that drug than people in other countries?"
Related Link: Weight Loss Drugs Wegovy, Ozempic Gain Traction With Millennials, High Earners: New Survey Results
Why It's Important: Sanders’ comments could center on the costs of the weight loss drugs, which could be bad news for companies like Novo Nordisk A/S NVO, who is the owner of Ozempic and Wegovy, and Eli Lilly and Co LLY, which owns Mounjaro.
The Hill reported Ozempic has a monthly list price of $936, making it five times as expensive as it is in Japan. Meanwhile, Wegovy has a listed price of $1,349.
Demand for weight loss drugs soared with Novo Nordisk seeing billions of dollars in quarterly revenue for Wegovy and Ozempic.
Other pharmaceutical companies are racing to get weight loss drugs to market or buying up competitors. Roche recently announced it was buying obesity drug developer Carmot Therapeutics.
Pfizer Inc PFE announced it was stopping the development of its weight loss pill in trials, but said it plans to be active in the market.
Shares of Altimmune ALT, which is working on treatments for obesity and liver disease, surged after announcing results from a Phase 2 obesity trial.
While details of the Senate hearing are scarce, it could throw some cold water on the rally realized by the weight loss drug sector and see more questions on pricing for the drugs, potentially hurting the profits of big drug companies.
Shares of Novo Nordisk are up 41% year-to-date in 2023 and Eli Lilly shares are up 63% year-to-date in 2023.
Photos: Shutterstock
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