White House, Novo Nordisk, Lilly announce price break deal on antiobesity drugs

Lower prices are coming for some of the antidiabetes and antiobesity drugs that have become pharmaceutical bestsellers in the last few years.

The White House and pharma giants Novo Nordisk and Ely Lilly announced “a historic reduction in prices for Americans on the two drugs with the highest annual expenditures in the United States.”

President Donald J. Trump “promised to ensure the American healthcare system is promoting health and addressing the root causes of chronic disease,” the White House’s news release said. “Today’s announcements represent historic progress on meeting this promise.”

The president hosted a briefing on the medicines. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., called the announcement the most significant in a string of agreements between the administration and Big Pharma to push down drug costs while expanding domestic production.

“This is going to have the biggest impact on the American people,” Kennedy said, according to a CNBC news report. “All Americans, even those who are not on Medicaid, Medicare, are going to be able to get the same price for their drugs, for their GLP-1s.”

Kennedy predicted the American populace would be 125 million pounds lighter in a year’s time, leading to “dramatic effects on human health” across the nation.

The president has used import tariffs as a bargaining chip with the pharmaceutical giants, and Novo Nordisk acknowledged an expected three-year tariff exemption in exchange for lower patient costs.

“Novo Nordisk has always worked to secure affordable access to our innovative medicines, and today’s announcement will bring semaglutide medicines to more American patients at a lower cost,” company President and CEO Mike Doustdar said in a news release. “Importantly, this also expands obesity medication access in Medicare, which will allow people living with obesity to access authentic Wegovy.”

Novo Nordisk has pledged $10 billion in U.S. investment; if it is approved, a Wegovy tablet would be produced entirely in the United States. Eli Lilly has announced the company would spend at least $27 billion in new U.S. manufacturing capacity.

In 2026, the new TrumpRx online sales portal will cut prices to $350 a month for Ozempic and Wegovy, currently selling for $1,000 and $1,350 a month, respectively.

Zepbound and Orforglipron, if approved, would sell for an average of $346 a month, down from the current price of $1,086 a month. If the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approve a Wegovy pill, or similar oral drugs, initial doses will sell at $150 a month, according to the president’s announcement.

The plan includes allowing Medicare and Medicaid to cover obesity drugs for adults. Medicare beneficiaries will pay have a $50 copay toward the $245 price for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro and Zepbound.

The TrumpRx sales portal also will have available:

• Emgality, an Eli Lilly treatment for migraines, for $299 per pen, down $443 from its list price.
• Trulicity, a Lilly diabetes medicine, will sell for $389 a month, down $598 from list price.
• Novo Nordisk’s widely use insulin products, including NovoLog and Tresiba, will sell for $35 a month.
• New medicines by those companies will sell at most-favored nation prices; state Medicaid programs will have access to most-favored nation drug prices.

The White House summary noted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate obesity among American adults to be at 40%. The condition increases risk of Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, strokes, and certain cancers.

“Today’s announcement makes available potentially life-changing medications to adults struggling with obesity, representing a historic opportunity to reverse the obesity epidemic and associated chronic disease crisis when coupled with lifestyle changes to preserve and improve health gains long-term,” the White House announcement said. “The administration remains committed to a comprehensive Make America Healthy Again approach that realigns incentives, fosters private-sector collaboration, increases public awareness of the importance of diet and exercise, and advances critical research.”