Trump claims "the price of semaglutide will plummet," "the weight loss duo" Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk's stock prices fell sharply in response

Former U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Thursday that the price of the popular diabetes drug Ozempic could drop to just $150 per month, causing market turbulence. This statement led to a significant decline in the after-hours stock prices of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. On October 16, Trump mentioned during a press conference in the Oval Office that the price of this "weight loss drug" produced by Novo Nordisk would "soon drop significantly," with out-of-pocket costs for patients falling to $150. Currently, the listed price of Ozempic in the U.S. is about $1,000 per month. However, Mehmet Oz, head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), quickly clarified that price negotiations are still ongoing and no agreement has been reached. As a result of this news, Novo Nordisk's ADR fell by as much as 4.7% in after-hours trading, while Eli Lilly's stock dropped by as much as 5.3%. This is the latest market reaction following Pfizer and AstraZeneca regarding potential price reduction agreements with weight loss drug manufacturers. The Trump administration had previously announced similar agreements with Pfizer and AstraZeneca. Wall Street has long anticipated that the government would take action against major weight loss drug manufacturers. Reports indicate that the press conference primarily focused on the agreement reached with Merck Group, which agreed to lower fertility treatment prices in exchange for a delay in the upcoming pharmaceutical tariffs. Price Negotiations Still Ongoing Despite Trump's specific price target, actual negotiations have not been completed. Oz quickly intervened during the press conference to clarify: "We have not negotiated these drugs yet." He stated that price negotiations for GLP-1 drugs, including Ozempic, will be "rolled out gradually," and no agreement has been reached at this time. When asked about the timeline for negotiations, Trump responded that prices would "drop soon." Oz reiterated that negotiations with pharmaceutical companies are still ongoing, and "will not end until the president is satisfied with the results." Novo Nordisk has been negotiating to lower drug prices since Trump sent letters requesting price reductions to 17 major pharmaceutical companies. Ozempic and its sister drug Wegovy have also been included in the price negotiation list under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), facing additional pressure from the legal framework. Eli Lilly's similar therapeutic drugs include Wegovy and Zepbound, which may also be affected by government price reduction actions. This statement indicates that the Trump administration is employing a strategy of exchanging tariff exemptions for price reductions, extending from fertility treatment drugs to the highly scrutinized weight loss drug sector