Novo shares rise as US Medicare price cuts come in largely as expected

By Bhanvi Satija and Maggie Fick

LONDON (Reuters) -Novo Nordisk shares rose 5% on Wednesday after analysts said negotiated prices from the U.S. Medicare health plan for 15 of its costliest drugs, including the drugmaker’s blockbusters Wegovy and Ozempic, came in broadly as expected.

The prices, announced late on Tuesday, will go into effect in 2027. The list included a monthly price of $274 for the Danish drugmaker’s semaglutide, sold as Wegovy for weight loss and Ozempic for diabetes.

Earlier this month Novo said it expected a low single-digit impact to global sales if the price cuts were implemented this year, which analysts said would imply roughly a 6 billion Danish crown or $900 million sales hit.

Analysts at JPMorgan said the impact from these price cuts had already been captured