For millions of patients on both sides of the Atlantic, the cost of the blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic has become a study in stark inequality. In Canada, a month’s supply costs around $150. Across the border in the United States, the same prescription can set you back upwards of $900. Now, as American lawmakers grapple with soaring drug prices, the UK’s NHS pricing model is being held up as a blueprint for fairness.
The disparity, laid bare by a new analysis from the West Health Policy Center, shows that Canadian patients pay roughly a sixth of the US price for the Novo Nordisk drug. The difference is not down to generosity. It is the result of hard negotiation. The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and NHS England negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies, using their bulk purchasing power to drive down prices. In the United States, the government is largely banned from such negotiations under laws passed in 2003 and 2010.
For working families in the North of England, where type 2 diabetes rates are stubbornly high, the NHS model is a lifeline. “Without the NHS negotiation, my mum would be choosing between her blood sugar medication and heating her home,” said Julie McGrath, a care worker from Newcastle. “It’s just wrong that in America they’re charged through the nose for the same drug.”
The price gap has caught the attention of US lawmakers. Senator Bernie Sanders, a long-time critic of Big Pharma, has invited Novo Nordisk CEO to testify before Congress, demanding answers on why Americans pay the highest prices in the world. “The UK and Canada have shown that it is possible to provide affordable access without sacrificing innovation,” Sanders said in a statement this week. “It’s time for the United States to follow suit.”
But the pharmaceutical industry pushes back. In a statement, Novo Nordisk argued that high US prices fund the research and development that leads to new treatments. “We invest billions in R&D,” a spokesperson said. “Negotiated prices in Europe do not cover these costs.” Yet critics point out that the company made $20 billion in global sales last year, with a profit margin that rivals tech giants.
The story of Ozempic is not just about diabetes. It is the same drug that has become a viral weight-loss phenomenon, with demand soaring among the wealthy. That frenzy has driven up list prices globally, but only in the US does the sticker price translate into near-total consumer pain. In the UK, the NHS has secured a confidential discounted price, thought to be around £40 per month.
For trade unions and patient groups, the case is clear. “This is a moral question,” said Rachel Reeves, a Labour MP and chair of the Commons Health Committee. “If the NHS can get a fair price, so can American taxpayers. The only obstacle is political will.”
As the Biden administration considers allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time, the Canadian and UK models offer a glimpse of what could be. For now, millions of Americans continue to pay the price for a system that puts profit before people. And in the industrial towns of the North, families like Julie’s count their blessings. “We’re lucky to have the NHS,” she said. “But no one should have to go broke to stay healthy.”
