Drugmakers Hiking Prices for More Than 700 Medications, Including Ozempic and Mounjaro

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Pharmaceutical companies are hiking prices for more than 700 medications, including popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Mounjaro, industry research shows.

The average price increase at year start was about about 4.5%, the analysis from 46 Brooklyn found. That represents a slightly slower pace compared with the five prior years, when drug prices rose about 5% each year on average, the data shows.

Among the noteworthy increases are Ozempic and Mounjaro, two drugs that belong to a class of medications called GLP-1 agonists. While these drugs are designed to help diabetics regulate their blood sugar, they’ve also been found to be effective weight-loss drugs, prompting non-diabetics to seek out the drugs in order to slim down. As a result, these drugs have been in greater demand, leading to shortages.

The price of Ozempic, which is manufactured by Novo Nordisk, rose 3.5% to $984.29 for a month’s supply, while Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro rose 4.5% to about $1,000 for a month’s worth of the medication, the 46 Brooklyn data shows.

Eli Lilly didn’t immediately return a request for comment. In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, Novo Nordisk said that it “increases the list price of some of our medicines each year in response to changes in the health care system, market conditions and the impact of inflation.”