## Novo Nordisk's Price Cut: Playing Catch-Up or Smart Strategy?

Novo Nordisk just slashed GLP-1 drug prices—Ozempic and Wegovy dropping from $499 to $349/month for existing patients, with first-timers getting 2 doses at $199 each. Brutal move, but necessary.

Here's the situation: The Danish pharma giant owned the weight-loss drug market with Ozempic/Wegovy, but lost serious ground to Eli Lilly's Mounjaro/Zepbound. Worse, telehealth companies like Hims have been undercut them with compounded semaglutide at $199/month under FDA loopholes. Stock price? Down 2/3 in 18 months.

New CEO is being aggressive—matching Lilly's pricing and even TrumpRx's negotiated rates. Profit margins will take a hit, but accessibility could win back market share.

The real wildcard: Wegovy as a **pill form** (FDA decision expected end of year). Patients prefer pills over injections, and that could be the game-changer to recapture customers from telehealth competitors.

Price wars suck, but in a potential $150B obesity drug market by 2035, being accessible might matter more than being expensive. Question is whether margins can recover once the pill hits.