The chief executive of the drugmaker Novo Nordisk, Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, is scheduled to face tough questions Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the high costs of the company’s widely popular weight-loss drugs.

Jørgensen will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions during a livestreamed hearing Tuesday starting at 10 a.m. ET.

The head of the committee, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has been vocal about his frustrations over how much Novo Nordisk charges Americans for both Ozempic (used to treat type 2 diabetes) and Wegovy (approved for weight loss).

In general, we pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs. Same exact medicine sold in Canada, Europe is a fraction of what it is in the United States,” Sanders said in an interview Monday. “The result of that is that hundreds of thousands of people in this country who desperately need this product will not be able to afford it.”

  • Bassman27@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    I don’t know why you’re being downvoted. I’ve seen this being peddled on social media and if you’re exploring these avenues simply to lose weight you’re lazy and should just exercise more / control your diet.

    • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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      23 days ago

      if you’re exploring these avenues simply to lose weight you’re lazy

      Fuck off. I guarantee you that every single person considering medication to control weight has tried exercise and diet.

    • Alk@lemmy.world
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      23 days ago

      You can say that as much as you want, but it won’t stop the obesity epidemic. “Just put in the work” won’t save millions from heart disease due to poor diet. Of course everyone could just start eating better. But clearly that hasn’t and will not work, so anything that can be used to help people be healthier and save lives, should be.