Eli Lilly Novo Nordisk stock fell after Trump GLP-1 price comments

shares Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk The price of the drug fell Friday, after President Donald Trump said his administration aims to reduce the cost of the brand’s weight-loss drug GLP-1 to $150 a month, a fraction of its current list price.

“In London, you can buy a certain drug for $130 and even less…$88 as of…a month ago. In New York, you pay $1,300 for the same thing,” Trump said during a Thursday afternoon event on in vitro fertilization at the White House. “Instead of $1,300, you’ll pay about $150, and they’ll pay $150, so we’ll pay the same.”

In response to a reporter’s question about the drug he was referring to, Trump replied: “I was referring to Ozempic or… the fat loss drug.”

At that point, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Dr. Mehmet Oz intervened and stressed that the administration had not yet agreed to price reductions for GLP-1 with drug companies.

“We have not negotiated these yet…we will roll them out over time, and the GLP drug class, which includes Ozempic, has not yet been negotiated,” Oz said.

Just a week ago, Oz said the administration was “in the middle of a lot of work” regarding pricing discussions with weight-loss drug makers.

Eli Lilly shares closed down 2% on Friday, while Novo Nordisk shares fell 3% in US trading. Meanwhile, shares Himes and hers health — which sells compounded GLP-1 products at a much cheaper price — fell more than 15%.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk were among 17 of the largest U.S. drug companies to receive letters from the Trump administration in the wake of the president’s executive order on so-called most-favored-nation pricing, which requires the companies to bring U.S. drug prices in line with those of other developed countries.

Pfizer and AstraZeneca They signed the president’s initiative and concluded drug pricing deals with the administration. But Trump and Oz’s comments make it clear that the administration is looking to engage weight-loss drug makers.

While demand for weight-loss drugs has increased, price remains a barrier for consumers and employers.

Only one in five large employers currently offers GLP-1s for weight loss, according to a new survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Of those who do, two-thirds say high-cost drugs have had a “significant” impact on their spending on prescription drugs.

Workers who are not covered by health insurance are increasingly turning to the cash market to purchase medications themselves.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk sell discounted versions of their diabetes and weight loss drugs on their direct-to-consumer sites for about $500 a month. Telehealth providers like Hims & Hers offer combination versions of GLP-1s for less than half that price, $130 to $200 per month.

If management can lower the cash price of popular weight loss drugs like Lilly’s Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy to $150, it would be competitive with compounded options and could have a significant impact on the current cash market.