Anti-obesity drugs will be cheaper. Trump announced an important agreement

US President Donald Trump announced on Thursday an agreement with pharmaceutical companies Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to reduce the prices of the popular anti-obesity drug GLP-1. As a result of the agreement, the prices of some of them will drop from over USD 1,000. up to $149 monthly.

As Trump announced during his speech in the Oval Office of the White House, the agreement concluded with the companies will reduce the prices of popular drugs used to combat excess weight: Wegova from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly's Zepbound.

– Americans spend up to 520 percent. more on Zepbound and 1,400 percent more on Wegovy than patients in Europe. Just think, 1,400 percent. more than a patient in Europe for the exact same box. And it ends today, Trump announced.

The president and his team announced that for the first time, these drugs will be reimbursed by state health insurance policies Medicare (for seniors) and Medicaid (for the lowest earners), and will also be available to order at a reduced price through the government's TrumpRx portal starting next year. The price of GLP-1 in the form of injections is expected to drop from over PLN 1,300. dollars per month to $345. next year and up to $250. in two years. In turn, the price of the new tablets – which are not yet available on the market – is expected to be $149. monthly. Medicare patients are expected to pay $50.

The decision to include GLP-1 in state insurance was made during Joe Biden's presidency, but Trump changed the formula for its validity, which, according to him, will save the budget almost $40 billion.

The drugs are to be available on prescription for patients who are obese or overweight with associated problems, such as hypertension. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that by increasing the availability of GLP-1, Americans will lose almost 60 million kilograms of body weight over the next year.

Both companies also declared investments of USD 10-15 billion in the production of funds in America. In return, both companies received priority in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval process for their new drugs. This is expected to shorten the process from over a year to weeks.

The agreement is another in a series of agreements under Trump's initiative to force pharmaceutical companies to use drug prices at the same level as in Europe and other developed countries. According to Trump's idea, pharmaceutical companies would increase drug prices outside the US to enable price reductions in the US. Earlier, similar commitments were made by, among others, Pfizer.

Thursday's event was suddenly interrupted when one of its participants fainted. The White House said the person was unharmed.

GLP-1 drugs such as semaglutide and tirzepatide – initially approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes – have gained wide popularity in the US as a way to lose weight. According to a Gallup study, in 2025 over 12 percent Americans have received such an injection at least once.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

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