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This is bonus material, for paid subscribers only, related to the story “You’ve Already Paid $6 Billion For Weight-Loss Drugs You Can’t Afford.”
Diabetes and weight-loss drugs drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have become increasingly popular — and are incredibly expensive. What may be surprising is that Americans have already spent $6.2 billion towards the research, development, and implementation of these medications through federal research grants from 1980 to 2024.
This taxpayer spending isn’t unusual. Americans shelled out at least $11.7 billion to help develop the ten high-cost prescription drugs that were selected for Medicare price negotiations last year.
Here’s how researchers from Bentley University in Massachusetts uncovered just how much taxpayer money went into the development of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss and diabetes:
