The maker of Ozempic is halving the price of its weight-loss jabs in the US after Donald Trump demanded cheaper drugs for Americans.
Novo Nordisk said it was slashing the cost of Ozempic, a diabetes jab which is used to slim down, to $499 (£369) a month – around half the $1,000 standard list price.
The Danish drug giant said it had also struck a deal with healthcare company GoodRx to make Wegovy, its obesity jab, available at the same price across more than 70,000 retail pharmacies nationwide.
Novo Nordisk had already lowered the price of Wegovy for cash-paying patients in March. However, the new deal will widen access for people without health insurance.
The price cut comes just weeks after the US president called for drug companies to make drugs cheaper in America, suggesting that they could offset this with higher prices in other countries.
Although Novo Nordisk said the offer was unrelated to talks with the US government, it follows fierce criticism from Mr Trump about how other countries have been able to get better deals for medicines.
Late last month, Mr Trump wrote to pharmaceutical bosses to demand they “negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations”.
In the letter, he said “increased revenues abroad must be repatriated to lower drug prices for American patients and taxpayers”.
In the UK, for example, people can pay online pharmacies between £119 and £190 for a four-week supply of Ozempic.
Last week, rival weight-loss drugmaker Eli Lilly said it would be raising its UK prices by as much as 170pc to help address concerns about unfair pricing.
Eli Lilly said its obesity drug Mounjaro would rise in price from Sept 1 to address “pricing inconsistencies compared to other developed countries, including in Europe”.
The company’s weight-loss jab will now cost between £133 and £330 per injection pen – depending on dosage – in the UK.
One pen contains four doses. Currently, it costs between £92 and £122. These are list prices and clinics are able to set their own prices for the jab, although the cost for patients is likely to increase in line with the higher list price.
Novo Nordisk said it had no plans to increase its UK prices despite pressure from Mr Trump.
In a statement, it said its focus was “on supporting patients, and we are committed to ensuring that our medicines are not only innovative but also accessible and affordable for those who need them most”.
It comes after demand for Wegovy boomed following the news of the Mounjaro price rise.
CheqUp, a weight-loss jab provider, said sales of Wegovy jumped more than 500pc on the Eli Lilly announcement.