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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said Friday that it had selected another 15 drugs for its second round of price negotiations, including the popular weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy.
Negotiations between the federal government and drugmakers are slated to occur in 2025, with any new prices set to take effect in 2027. Pharmaceutical companies have until Feb. 25 to decide if they will participate in negotiations.
Along with Wegovy and Ozempic, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has tapped Xtandi, Ibrance, Calquence, and Pomalyst, which are used to treat various types of cancer, for price negotiations. Otezla, a psoriasis medicine; Vraylar, an antipsychotic.; and Trelegy Ellipta, an inhaler used to treat emphysema and asthma, were also picked.
According to the CMS, the drugs selected were used by 5.3 million people with coverage under Medicare Part D between November 2023 and October 2024 to treat conditions such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. They also accounted for about $41 billion in total gross covered under Medicare Part D, or about 14% of all costs, during that time period.
“Last year, we proved that negotiating for lower drug prices works,” Xavier Becerra, the outgoing head of HHS, said in a statement. “Now we plan to build on that record by negotiating for lower prices for 15 additional important drugs for seniors.”
The Inflation Reduction Act, which was passed by Congress in 2022, allowed the CMS to negotiate the price for brand name drugs that make up most of Medicare’s prescription drug spending. HHS in August announced lowered prices of the first 10 prescription drugs that underwent Medicare negotiations.
The selected drugs accounted for $56.2 billion in total Medicare spending in 2023, according to HHS. The negotiations resulted in price discounts ranging from 38% to 79%.
Novo Nordisk (NVO-5.09%), the company behind both Ozempic and Wegovy, had expected Ozempic to be included in the second round of price negotiations. Its drugs have become incredibly popular as Americans turn to GLP-1 medications to help them lose weight. Wegovy has also been approved for reducing heart risks like heart attacks and strokes, while studies have found these dugs can help with several other conditions.
Novo Nordisk saw its stock fall by more than 4% in pre-market trading Friday. Shares are also being affected by headline results from a new study that found patients who take a higher dose of Wegovy lost more weight than those on a lower dose without experiencing an increase in side effects.
The study found that people who took a 7.2-milligram dose lost an average of 20.7% of their weight over 72 weeks. Patients who took a 2.4-milligram dose of the semaglutide lost 17.5% of their weight, while people given a placebo lost just 2.4% of their weight over that time. Over 33% of participants who took the higher dose also recorded a weight loss of 25% or more, compared to 16.7% of participants with the lower dose.
“We are very pleased to demonstrate 20.7% weight loss and to see that 33% of patients achieved more than 25% weight loss with semaglutide 7.2 mg, with a safety and tolerability profile comparable to semaglutide 2.4 mg,” Novo Nordisk’s head of development, Martin Holst Lange, said in a statement.
— Bruce Gil contributed to this article.