UnitedHealth to work on making diabetes drugs more affordable

[October 14, 2023]  (Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group said on Friday it will focus on finding a way to make GLP-1 drugs, used for the treatment of weight loss and diabetes, more affordable for its customers.

"Our customers ... are concerned about the prices of GLP-1s that are set by manufacturers, (and) OptumRx will continue to negotiate lower prices through discounts over time," said Patrick Conway, head of the company's pharmacy benefit management (PBM) unit.

OptumRx, UnitedHealth's PBM unit, acts as intermediaries between insurers and drugmakers to negotiate prescription drug prices.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Pens for the diabetes drug Ozempic sit on a production line in Denmark, September 26, 2023. REUTERS/Tom Little/File Photo

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