LAS VEGAS — FDA Commissioner Robert Califf criticized pharma companies on Monday for charging high prices for weight loss drugs.
Califf called the profit margin in the US for the drugs “outrageous.”
“They should be ashamed of themselves for what they’re charging Americans,” he said on stage at the HLTH conference in Las Vegas. “It’s not right.”
Califf, who’s previously called out high drug prices, said the weight loss and diabetes medication shortages were — to his knowledge — the first time a company was unable to produce enough of a drug sold at a high, profitable price point to meet the demand. Semaglutide is currently in shortage, while the FDA in October took tirzepatide off its shortage list.
In the US, list prices for one-month supplies of the popular weight loss medications Wegovy (made by Novo Nordisk) and Zepbound (made by Eli Lilly) are upwards of $1,000 a month. Many patients pay less with insurance rebates and coupons.
Lawmakers have scrutinized the price of GLP-1 medications, bringing Novo Nordisk’s CEO in front of a Senate hearing, where he turned the discussion toward pharmacy benefit managers who negotiate based on the list price.
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