WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. Senator Bernie

Sanders said on Tuesday he had received commitments from all

major pharmacy benefit managers they would expand coverage of

Novo Nordisk's popular diabetes and weight-loss

medicines if the company lowered their list prices.

Sanders said he received the commitments in writing

during his opening remarks at a hearing of the Senate Committee

on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which he

chairs, on why the company charges Americans more for the

lifesaving drugs than any other country.

"I am delighted to announce today that I have received

commitments in writing from all of the major PBMs that if Novo

Nordisk substantially reduced the list price for Ozempic and

Wegovy, they would not limit coverage. In fact, all of them told

me they would be able to expand coverage for these drugs if the

list price was reduced," Sanders said.

The announcement counters one of the most common talking

points pharmaceutical companies cite when they argue against

reducing list prices of their drugs, which is that cuts would

lead to narrower coverage because pharmacy middlemen known as

PBMs are incentivized to include expensive drugs on formularies

because they lead to larger rebates.

Sanders strongly criticized Novo Nordisk CEO

Lars Jorgensen, the sole witness at the hearing, over the high

prices of Ozempic and Wegovy which can cost Americans more than

$1,000 a month.

Semaglutide, a drug in the GLP-1 class that is marketed as

Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for type-2 diabetes, has been

shown to help patients lose an average of 15% of their weight.

Ozempic and Wegovy carry U.S list prices of $935.77 and

$1,349.02, respectively, for a month's supply, which Sanders has

previously argued is far higher than the respective $59 and $92

price tags they carry in some European countries.

Jorgensen said that type-2 diabetes costs the United States

around $413 billion every year, while obesity costs $1.7

trillion annually, according to prepared remarks seen by

Reuters.

He also said patients often struggle to navigate the U.S.

healthcare system, and that Novo will work with HELP "to address

structural issues that harm patients and drive up costs".