Then be prepared to fork out more money for it next year as authorities plan on removing subsidies for Novo Nordisk’s appetite-inhibiting drug, DR reports. The long-standing issue over the high subsidy amount that is needed to cover the drug’s price for almost 90,000 patients in Denmark has now come to the attention of the country’s Reimbursement Committee, which falls under the purview of the Danish Medicines Agency.
- The committee stressed that patients should be given a cheaper first alternative as the government will have to allocate a large sum, DKK1.1 billion this year, just for Ozempic.
- Ozempic costs around DKK 48 per day, or DKK 17.000 per year, per patient.
- A cheaper alternative costs around DKK 15 per day or DKK 5.500 per year per patient.
If the Danish Medicines Agency adopts the committee’s recommendation, most patients will then have to decide if they want to switch to a cheaper alternative after consulting their doctors. If patients still want Ozempic, they will have to apply for it, and only upon a doctor’s stringent assessment will it continue to be administered and subsidized. The Danish Medicines Agency must decide on this matter by autumn, and if the subsidy is removed, changes can be expected by next summer.
