January 18, 2024 – Manufacturers of diabetes drugs, that are also popular for weight reduction, increased their drug prices in early 2024.
Drug costs rose in the primary half of January, based on an evaluation by Novo Nordisk, which makes Ozempic, and Eli Lilly, which sells Mounjaro The Wall Street Journal from 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit drug price evaluation group.
Ozempic's monthly price rose 3.5% to almost $970, the Journal reported. Mounjaro costs rose 4.5% to almost $1,070 per thirty days.
The Journal reported that Novo Nordisk said its list price increases within the United States haven’t reached greater than a single-digit percentage since 2016.
Drug firms have increased list prices for 775 brand-name drugs to this point in 2024, the Journal reported.
They “generally attributed the price increases to market trends, inflation and the value of the drugs,” the newspaper wrote. “Some companies said the list price changes would have no impact on patients’ access to the medications.”
Drug prices often rise at the start of a 12 months, but further increases are possible.
Such increases typically anger patients and healthcare professionals. As the Journal noted, drugmakers often discount prices to get reimbursed by medical insurance firms, and patients with medical insurance typically pay only a fraction of the price.
The US government will begin negotiations with drug manufacturers on drug prices for the primary time this 12 months. Last 12 months it began penalizing manufacturers who raised drug list prices above the speed of inflation.