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A Brazilian politician is making an interesting campaign pitch: Ozempic for all.
Eduardo Paes, the current mayor of Rio de Janeiro, is seeking reelection and just promised to make a generic version of Ozempic available through the city’s public health network, if he wins.
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“I took a lot of Ozempic, that little medicine that is helping everyone lose weight,” Paes told the Brazilian newspaper Extra on Tuesday, adding that he lost 66 pounds.
“Its patent will expire next year, and it will be available as a generic and I will introduce it to the entire public health system,” Paes said. “Rio will be a city where there will be no more fat people, everyone will be taking Ozempic at family clinics.”
Ozempic, produced by Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk (NVO), is a GLP-1 treatment for diabetes. It works by mimicking a hormone that regulates blood sugar and suppresses appetite, and as a result has become highly sought after for its weight loss effects.
Skyrocketing sales for GLP-1 medications have transformed Novo Nordisk and its rival Eli Lilly (LLY), the maker of Mounjaro and Zepbound, into the most valuable pharma companies in the world.
In Brazil, a month’s supply of Ozempic costs about 1,000 Brazilian Reals ($182.36). Its patent in the country is set to expire sometime in the next two years, allowing for cheaper generic versions of the drug to enter the market.
Paes’s remarks have gone viral on social media and have been criticized by his opponents.
Alexandre Ramagem, another candidate running for mayor, posted a video on his Instagram account of Rio resident complaining about a lack of basic medicines in the family clinics.
Tarcísio Motta, who is also running for mayor, told Brazilian media that Paes comments were “disrespectful to the diversity of bodies” in the city and an “encouragement of fatphobia.”
Paes responded to his critics and said that he is not fatphobic.
“When the patent is broken, which should happen in 2025 or 2026, it will reduce the cost enormously,” Paes said. “Why not make it available to the population? We’re not going to give it away for vain reasons. It’s not to make six-packs.”
Paes’s comments come as governments around the world are trying to expand access to GLP-1 drugs.
England’s National Health Services (NHS) announced today a plan to provide Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug to nearly a quarter million people over three years.
In September, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, in a a Senate committee hearing, called on Novo Nordisk to slash the list price of Ozempic and Wegovy in the United States, where they currently cost $968 per month.
