Cumulative revenue is estimated ~$65 billion, ongoing expenses isn't a number I can't accurately estimate.
It takes a ton of up-front investment to bring drugs to the market, the risk is extreme, and there is no early payout like most investments where revenue scales slowly over time; instead is like 0 returns, then a landslide.
One thing is for sure: these drugs are life-changing for people. I'm hoping these extreme revenue numbers clear the path for more investment, a resulting increase in competition, so we can bring prices down in a 2-3 years, and we're talking about something as pedestrian as Ozempic. What will really be wild is when these drug patents expire and the market is flooded with generics.
Also, Novo Nordisk’s data exclusivity for semaglutide expired in Canada on January 4, 2026, so people in border states in the US should be able to get that one very cheap soon.
What they don't want is universal healthcare. It's like a singularity, you get closer and closer but you can't ever reach the bad part.