Trump vows to lower drug prices and diet pills may be the target of a crackdown

The Zhitong Finance App has learned that US President Donald Trump's executive order instructs pharmaceutical companies to lower prices to levels close to those of other countries, otherwise they will face new regulatory actions, including export restrictions and tariffs.

Trump emphasized the huge price differences around the world and mentioned a conversation with a businessman friend who expressed concern about the high prices of weight loss treatments in the US. This friend said, “I paid $88 for diet pills in London and $1,300 in New York. What the hell is going on with this? ... It's still the same box of medicine made by the same company in the same factory.”

According to reports, diet pills such as Novo Nordisk (NVO.US)'s Wegovy and LLY.US (LLY.US)'s Zepbound may cost more than $1,000 per month in the US retail market.

A White House official said on Monday that it is “reasonable to expect” popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs, such as Eli Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide) and Novo Nordisk's Wegovy (semaglutide), to be included.

Trump said the US paid 10 times more for Novo Nordisk's Ozempic than other countries. Ozempic contains the same active ingredients as Wegovy, but is approved to treat type 2 diabetes and is also used for weight loss. He blamed this on America's past “deception.”

As of press release, Novo Nordisk's stock price fell 2.4% before the market, and Eli Lilly's stock price was basically flat.