The chief executive of the drugmaker Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, is scheduled to face tough questions Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the high costs of the company’s widely popular weight-loss drugs.

Jørgensen will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions during a livestreamed hearing Tuesday starting at 10 a.m. ET.

The head of the committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been vocal about his frustrations over how much Novo Nordisk charges Americans for both Ozempic (used to treat type 2 diabetes) and Wegovy (approved for weight loss).

In general, we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Same exact medicine sold in Canada, Europe is a fraction of what it is in the United States,” Sanders said in an interview Monday. “The result of that is that hundreds of thousands of people in this country who desperately need this product will not be able to afford it.”

  • Tenthrow@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    It dives me crazy that influencers and instagram wannabes have declared Ozempic a weight loss drug. As a diabetic, Ozempic has been the most effective glucose controlling medication I have ever taken. It drives me crazy that people see it as an easy weight loss medication. I couldn’t get it for months because of this insanity.

    Also FUCK pharmaceutical companies for this predatory pricing shit and fuck our government for allowing this to happen.

    • MrQuallzin@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Technically speaking, Ozempic is a weight-loss drug. Both are semaglutide, with slight variations on dosing. It’s not FDA approved as a weight loss drug, but can be used off-label for it.

      I whole heartedly agree about influencers peddling them as miracle prescriptions. It just takes more away from the already limited stock.

      • flicker@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Ozempic and Wegovy are identical chemicals. Ozempic is the name it goes by for treatment of type 2 diabetes, Wegovy is the name it goes by for weight loss.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
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      3 months ago

      Start voting progressive and pushing for them to take their rightful place at the head of the DNC then

      Moderates refuse to admit healthcare needs fixing, Republicans say it needs fixed but can’t even give the concept of a plan to fix it.

      The only option that will actually try to fix this. Is progressives, and they can’t really do shit while party leadership is in the pockets of the American Healthcare industry.

      Dont forget 80+ years ago republicans and “moderate” Dems stopped FDR from getting us universal healthcare, and theyve shown no indications they’ve changed their mind about it.

      If you want things to change, we need to change the type of Dems running the party.

      • escapesamsara@lemmings.world
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        3 months ago

        Progressives have never and will never have power in the us in the two currently largest parties, no matter how you vote.