Western diets heavy on high-fructose corn syrup and processed carbohydrates have sparked an epidemic of age-related Type 2 diabetes. This has led hand in hand to a boom in demand for semaglutide and tirzepatide, better known under their brand names Ozempic and Mounjaro. Since they also often prove effective at regulating appetite, the duo are finding increased off-label use as a way to combat excessive weight. 

However, according to the findings of a new study coauthored by KFF, the San Francisco nonprofit specializing in health care policies formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, Americans are paying through the nose to get access to them compared to people in other wealthy industrialized countries.

The average list price for diabetes drug Ozempic, a once-weekly injectable that manages insulin levels, will set an American patient back $936 per month, KFF notes. Citing data from its Health System Tracker collected jointly with the Peterson Center on Healthcare, KFF said the same treatment only costs $169 in Japan, the country saddled with the second-highest cost. In France, it is far lower at only $83.

Data is similar for Wegovy, the first new drug since 2014 to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) specifically for weight loss. It counts prominent supporter Elon Musk as a patient. 

Just like Ozempic, it is a semaglutide, but it is administered in a much higher dose—2.4 milligrams weekly versus just 1 mg. Whereas a German patient will need spend the equivalent of $328 for a month’s supply of the drug, a similar individual in the U.S. has to fork over $1,349 by comparison.

When it comes to Mounjaro, a different class of drug that targets both hormones regulating sugar levels in the blood, the KFF data is less extensive. Yet it still points to prices that are more than double those found elsewhere. 

Side effects include ‘Ozempic face’

While the findings are indicative, the study focused on list prices, which do not necessarily reflect what a patient may end up paying. Private insurers and U.S. employers are free to negotiate lower prices with drugmakers—assuming they can. 

Either way, however, the costs will likely be borne by someone in some form or fashion. 

Since the U.S. is notorious for its abnormally large share of overweight consumers, the burden to the country’s health care system may end up proving prohibitively expensive. Every third American is considered to be obese versus an average of 17% across other wealthy Western countries.

“Higher prices of drugs for weight loss and higher rates of obesity in the U.S. could mean a more significant impact of these drugs on overall health spending in the U.S. than in peer countries,” the study concluded on Thursday.

It’s not a coincidence that two of the three most valuable pharmaceutical companies in the world are producers of these three diabetes and weight-loss drugs: Eli Lilly, maker of Mounjaro, and Novo Nordisk.

The latter’s market cap now rivals the annual economic output of its native Denmark thanks to the blockbuster success of Ozempic and Wegovy, and the nearly $420 billion company could soon find itself even more valuable than Bernard Arnault’s European luxury goods giant LVMH. 

In a research report published July 2022, analysts at U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted the two rivals would effectively divvy up amongst themselves a market to treat obesity worth $54 billion by 2030.

Despite the craze around the drugs, there are unwanted side effects beyond those listed by the manufacturer. One of the most common is a loss of fat tissue around the eyes, nose, and mouth that can cause the skin to then sag. This tendency for people to look as if they have aged has given birth to a popular new term—“Ozempic face.”