New HHS petition Calls on the Trump Administration to Authorize Affordable Generic GLP-1 Drugs for Americans
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Public Citizen filed a petition requesting that the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) authorize generic competition for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide, overcoming the drugmakers’ patent barriers to improve access to expensive GLP-1s for weight loss, type 2 diabetes, and other conditions.
This year, generics manufacturers are expected to begin selling GLP-1s in Canada for less than $100. In the United States, Novo Nordisk’s and Eli Lilly’s exorbitant pricing of GLP-1s is limiting access for patients while having catastrophic effects on health program budgets. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have repeatedly price gouged the U.S. compared to other countries including Canada, Japan and the U.K., charging Americans up to 16 times as much for the same treatments.
Between 2020 and 2024, Medicare’s gross spending on semaglutide products increased nearly ten-fold, reaching an astonishing total of $15.16 billion in 2024, despite a prohibition on coverage for weight loss. Several states have rescinded coverage due to high costs, leaving patients without access. In 2024, North Carolina asked HHS to license generics to help stabilize its State Health Plan budget. In 2025, Connecticut passed a law to petition a generics license as well.
Generic competition could save Medicare more than $8 billion for currently covered indications in the first two years. This is over three billion dollars more than estimated savings that could be achieved through prices agreed as part of voluntary agreements between the Trump administration and the companies.
“Affordable generic GLP1s are on the way in Canada, while Americans still struggle with the world’s highest prices. Americans will struggle for years unless the federal government takes real action,” said Public Citizen Access to Medicines program director Peter Maybarduk. “The government has the power under existing law to overcome these patent barriers at any time. If Trump were serious about lowering drug prices, he would challenge Novo and Lilly’s patent monopolies and not let Americans continue to pay the highest prices in the world.”
Read a summary of key points here.