WASHINGTON, July 10 (Reuters) - Senator Bernie Sanders

on Wednesday expressed confidence that Novo Nordisk

can be convinced to cut the U.S. prices of its popular Ozempic

and Wegovy used for weight loss by publicly shaming the

drugmaker over how much it charges compared to prices in other

countries.

Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jorgensen is set to testify in front

of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and

Pensions, which Sanders chairs, in a September hearing focusing

on U.S. prices for Ozempic and Wegovy.

"I think we got a real shot, and I was pleased to see

President Biden supporting that effort," Sanders told Reuters in

a phone interview.

The strategy worked for Sanders last year when he took on

Novo, Eli Lilly ( LLY ), and Sanofi over the high

price of insulin. All three companies announced they were

cutting prices ahead of a scheduled HELP committee hearing

following months of pressure.

"I think the major thing that we can do, and we've done this

successfully in the past with insulin ... is to put a focus on

the greed of the pharmaceutical industry in general, and Novo

Nordisk in particular, in terms of them ripping off the American

people," Sanders said.

Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to a request for

comment on Sanders' accusations.

"It is very hard for any company, especially one that is

making record breaking profits, to defend itself when they are

charging the American people many times more for the same exact

drug than they charge people in other countries." Sanders said.

Sanders wants to see Novo reduce the price of Ozempic in the

United States to around $155, the drug's price in Canada.

A month's supply of Novo's diabetes drug Ozempic, which has

the same active ingredient as Wegovy and is used off-label for

weight loss, carries a U.S. list price of $935.77, while Wegovy

lists for $1,349.02 per month, according to the drugmaker's

website, although most consumers pay less.

Unparalleled demand for newer weight-loss drugs from Novo

and Lilly has led to a surge in their share prices, transforming

them into among the world's most valuable companies.

Sanders acknowledged that he was currently focused on Novo

Nordisk because it makes what is on track to become the most

profitable drug in history, but said he will "certainly" get to

Eli Lilly ( LLY ), which sells rival drugs Mounjaro and Zepbound,

describing their prices as "outrageous."

Mounjaro and Zepbound list for about $1,100 per month.

Some analysts have forecast the total market for weight loss

drugs exceeding $100 billion by the end of the decade.

"Eli Lilly ( LLY ) is a big player as well. We know that, so we're

not prejudiced against Novo," Sanders said.

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Sanders said he plans to introduce legislation that expands

the maximum number of drugs eligible for Medicare price

negotiations to 50 from 20 a year and extends the annual $2,000

cap on out-of-pocket costs to Americans outside of Medicare. He

added that he hopes to secure bipartisan support for the

measures.

President Joe Biden called for both provisions in his State

of the Union address earlier this year.

Sanders also plans to look at pharmacy benefit managers -

the industry middlemen who pharmaceutical companies blame for

the high cost of prescription drugs - but said drugmakers could

not use them as an excuse.

"To say that PBMs play a negative role is true, but

notwithstanding that ... (the drug companies) are still ripping

off the American people," said Sanders.

Novo Nordisk only announced its CEO would testify before the

Senate committee following a threat of subpoena by Sanders.

"Novo, in all of their press releases, keep saying they want

to work in a constructive way with elected officials. They're

not," said Sanders.

"They have not come back to us with anything constructive."