Novo blames US health system after criticism over Wegovy price, Bloomberg reports

London: Novo Nordisk said it retains about 60 per cent of the list price of its popular diabetes and obesity drugs - Ozempic and Wegovy - after rebates and fees paid to middlemen in the United States, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.

The Danish drugmaker's comments, made in a letter to Senator Bernie Sanders on Friday, come amid an ongoing investigation by a U.S. Senate committee into the higher prices of the drugs in the United States compared to other countries.

Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The company argued in the letter to Senator Sanders, who has been pressing to lower the cost of Wegovy, that the focus on the list price of the drugs was misplaced because a part of it is paid to middlemen in the complex US health care system, Bloomberg said in its report on Tuesday.

The drugs belong to a class of treatments known as GLP-1s, which help regulate blood sugar and cause the stomach to empty more slowly. Analysts estimate the market for these drugs could be about $150 billion by the early 2030s as their use expands beyond obesity and diabetes and supply constraints ease.

A 2 milligram dose of Ozempic carries a list price of $935.77 in the United States, while Wegovy has a list price of $1,349.02 per package, according to the drugmaker's website.

Novo said "under current market conditions, the company expects that net prices will continue to decline for both Ozempic and Wegovy," according to the report. (Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)