The administration of US President Donald Trump is likely to announce this week an agreement with the pharmaceutical companies “Eli Lilly” and “Novo Nordisk” to reduce the prices of weight loss drugs, in exchange for limited medical coverage, according to two people familiar with the matter to NBC News.
A potential deal
The sources explained that the agreement aims to reduce the cost of low doses of popular GLP-1 drugs, such as Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy, to $149 per month. In return, the medical care program will cover the costs of these drugs for some beneficiaries.
It is not yet clear whether the $149 price will include all private and public insurance companies, or whether it will be limited to cash payment. It is also not known exactly which Medicare patients are eligible for coverage. It should be noted that the details of the plan are still under study and are subject to change.
The potential sources confirmed the deal on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly. “EndoPoint News” was the first to publish the news. The “Washington Post” reported that the agreement is expected to be announced on Thursday.
In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said: “Discussions about deals that the administration has not officially announced should be considered speculation.”
Spokesmen for “Lilly” and “Novo Nordisk” confirmed in emails that they are in discussions with the Trump administration, but did not provide details about any potential deal.
If a final agreement is reached, this would be the most important achievement of President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce the prices of prescription drugs, with the aim of aligning them with the prices of other developed countries, which is the plan known as the “most favored nation” drug pricing campaign.
Trump relaunched this initiative with an executive order last May, after his efforts faltered during his first term.
(Al-Mashhad)
