Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said on

Tuesday he received confirmation from major generic

pharmaceutical companies that they could sell copycat versions

of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic for less than

$100 a month.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jorgensen is set to testify before the

Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

(HELP), which Sanders chairs, in a hearing next week focusing on

U.S. prices for its widely popular Ozempic and weight-loss drug

Wegovy.

KEY QUOTE

Sanders said he spoke to the chief executives of several

major generic drugmakers over the past few months.

"They have studied the matter and they tell me that they can

sell a generic version of Ozempic, the exact same drug that Novo

Nordisk is manufacturing, to Americans for less than $100 per

month," he said.

Sanders did not name the companies to which he spoke.

Ozempic's patent is not set to expire in the United States until

2032.

CONTEXT

Ozempic, which has the same active ingredient as Wegovy and

is used off-label for weight loss, belongs to the popular GLP-1

class, which has seen overwhelming demand in the United States.

Some analysts have forecast the total market for weight-loss

drugs to reach $150 billion by the early 2030s.

However, this comes amid criticism from lawmakers over the

high costs associated with these medications.

BY THE NUMBERS

A month's supply of Novo's Ozempic 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.