Semaglutide costs and pharmaceutical spending trends

In Portugal, users of the National Health Service (SNS) spent over 650 million euros on medications between January and August, marking a 2.4% increase compared to the same period last year. According to a report by Infarmed, the SNS's own expenditure on outpatient medication subsidies rose to over 1.338 billion euros. Antidiabetic drugs represent the largest cost category, totaling 334.9 million euros. Notably, semaglutide—the active ingredient in drugs used for diabetes and weight loss—saw a 54.5% increase in expenditure for the SNS, costing the service over 49 million euros.

In India, the expiration of semaglutide patents has led to a significant drop in prices due to the entry of approximately 40 local generic manufacturers. While monthly costs in the United States can exceed 1,000 dollars, generic semaglutide in India costs patients between 22 and 36 dollars, with some disposable pens priced near 20 dollars. This influx of generics has caused a massive surge in consumption; semaglutide sales in India jumped from 25,000 units in February to 170,000 units in April. Similar price reductions of 60% to 90% have been observed for other diabetes medications like gliflozins and gliptins in the Indian market.