Lilly shares fell following announcements by Pres. Donald Trump that the pharmaceutical company’s weight-loss drugs would be “much lower,” following negotiations with it and other pharmaceutical companies over pricing. Photo by Paul Sableman, Wikimedia Commons.

News Release

WASHINGTON — Shares of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk fell Friday, Oct. 17 after Pres. Donald Trump said the price of the weight-loss drug Ozempic could soon drop to $150 a month. Trump told reporters Thursday, Oct. 16 that the cost of the Novo Nordisk-made drug, which currently carries a U.S. list price of about $1,000 for a month’s supply, would become “much lower.”

He said similar pricing would apply to rival treatments sold by Eli Lilly, including Mounjaro and Zepbound.

Trump’s remarks came during an event highlighting an agreement between his administration and Germany’s Merck KGaA to reduce fertility treatment costs in exchange for relief from potential pharmaceutical tariffs. Similar pacts have been announced with Pfizer Inc. and AstraZeneca Plc, fueling expectations of broader price cuts across the drug industry.

Health officials said negotiations over GLP-1 weight-loss medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy, are still underway. The discussions are part of a larger effort under the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce prescription drug prices, with final terms expected by Nov. 1 and new pricing set to take effect in 2027.

Analysts said the president’s comments may reflect a tough negotiating stance rather than a guaranteed price shift, noting that many insured patients already pay significantly less than the drug’s list price.

Novo’s stock declined as much as 7% in Copenhagen trading, its sharpest one-day drop since July, while Lilly’s shares slipped 5.1% in premarket trading in New York.

Novo has already lost more than half its market value over the past year amid growing competition in the weight-loss drug market.