Novo Nordisk CEO Agrees To Testify In US Senate Hearing Over Ozempic, Wegovy Prices

(RTTNews) - Novo Nordisk (NVO) CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen has agreed to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders, to defend the high prices of weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic.

"I enjoyed the opportunity of chatting with Mr. Jorgensen this afternoon and thank him for agreeing to voluntarily testify on a solo panel before the HELP Committee on the high cost of Ozempic and Wegovy in the United States," Sanders said in a statement. "The scheduled subpoena vote is no longer necessary and will be cancelled."

Earlier, Sanders was about to hold a vote to subpeona Doug Langa, the executive vice president of North America operations for Novo Nordisk, to testify to the Committee. However, Jorgensen will now face the hearing in September.

Confirming the news, the drugmaker said, "As part of Novo Nordisk's continued efforts to cooperate with the Chairman, our CEO reaffirmed our position. He and Chairman Sanders had a productive call and agreed to find a mutually acceptable date for a hearing. We look forward to discussing solutions that ensure access and affordability for all patients within the complex U.S. healthcare system".

The Senate hearing is a part of Sanders's investigation regarding why the prices of the company's weight-loss drugs are higher in the U.S. compared to other countries.

A Wegovy prescription costs around $1,349 per month in the U.S., whereas the same costs $140 in Germany and $92 in the U.K., according to Fortune.

"The American people are sick and tired of being ripped off by giant pharmaceutical companies who make huge profits every year while charging us outrageous prices," Sanders stated last week.

"The Committee looks forward to Mr. Jorgensen explaining why Americans are paying up to ten or 15 times more for these medications than people in other countries," Sanders added.

While responding to a letter by Sanders in May regarding costs, the drug maker argued that the U.S. health care system was the reason behind the high prices as a substantial part of its revenue goes to middlemen in the U.S. compared to Europe, Bloomberg reports.