The Biden administration said Medicare will negotiate discounts with drug companies on 15 drugs prescribed to treat cancer, diabetes and asthma.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra says “this is a big deal.” Drug companies oppose the program.

The Biden administration moved Friday to negotiate the prices Medicare pays for the blockbuster weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, medications costing the massive government health program billions of dollars a year.

The government is expected to pay lower prices for Ozempic and Wegovy starting in 2027. The Trump administration will decide whether to expand coverage for millions of Americans.

Novo Nordisk said patients taking a bigger dose of its blockbuster obesity drug lost more weight than those on a lower dose, without experiencing an increase in side effects.

A high dose of Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug Wegovy led patients to lose substantial weight in a clinical trial, but still less than what’s been seen with Zepbound.

The White House on Friday said Novo Nordisk’s weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic were among the 15 medications picked for a round of price negotiations with Medicare. The companies do not have to negotiate, but if they don’t, they face fines or the possible end of Medicare reimbursements.

WASHINGTON — Medicare officials announced plans to negotiate the prices of blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, further complicating big decisions the Trump administration will have to make about how to cover the medications.

Novo Nordisk said a higher dose of its drug Wegovy led to greater weight loss in patients during a late-stage trial, but the results fell short of the weight loss achieved with Eli Lilly's rival drug Zepbound,