Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Sanders Grills Novo Nordisk CEO Over High Cost Of Weight Loss Drugs
Novo Nordisk A/S Chief Executive Officer Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen found himself struggling to defend the price of blockbuster drugs Ozempic and Wegovy in a congressional hearing Tuesday where Senator Bernie Sanders accused the drugmaker of prioritizing profits over American lives. In a contentious back-and-forth with the Novo CEO at the outset of the hearing, the Vermont senator pressed Jorgensen on his indirect answers and refusal to respond to his questions. (Muller, Kresge, and Griffin, 9/24)
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on Tuesday he had commitments from the nation's top pharmacy benefit managers that they would expand coverage of Novo Nordisk's popular diabetes and weight-loss medicines if the company lowered the list prices. (Aboulenein and Wingrove, 9/24)
The top of executive of Novo Nordisk told a Senate panel Tuesday it was a "difficult choice" to discontinue the long-acting insulin Levemir but he had to do so because of market forces. The Danish drugmaker previously announced it would stop sales of Levemir vials by the end of December. Novo Nordisk's decision has been criticized by some patients with Type 1 diabetes who prefer Levemir over other long-acting "basal" insulins such as Sanofi's Lantus and Novo Nordisk's Tresiba. (Alltucker, 9/25)
More on drug prices —
In the latest slap at a pharmaceutical company by a local government, the city of Baltimore has filed a lawsuit accusing Biogen of striking an “unlawful” scheme with the largest pharmacy benefit managers to block generic competition of a best-selling multiple sclerosis treatment. (Silverman, 9/24)
Other news from Capitol Hill —
Congress is expected Wednesday to give swift approval to a temporary spending bill that would keep federal agencies funded when the new fiscal year begins next Tuesday, avoiding a potential shutdown showdown just weeks before the Nov. 5 election. The stopgap measure generally funds agencies at current levels through Dec. 20, but an additional $231 million was included to bolster the Secret Service after the two assassination attempts against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. Money was also added to aid with the presidential transition, among other things. (Freking, 9/25)
