Eli Lilly caps consumer insulin costs at $35
pharmafile | March 2, 2023 | News story | Medical Communications |
Eli Lilly & Co has announced that it will cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month, following a plea from President Joe Biden for more affordability for diabetes treatments for all Americans.
The company has announced the insulin price cap alongside other price changes, for example the list price for non-branded Insulin Lispro Injection will be cut to $25 per vial in May, and some Humalog and Humulin doses will be cut by 70% in the fourth quarter of 2023. From April, Lilly’s newly launched Rezvoglar will sell at a 78% discount compared to its biosimilar, Sanofi’s Lantus.
The decision to reduce insulin prices follows both President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act as well as the company facing backlash when a fake Lilly twitter account posted a viral tweet late last year, reading: “We are excited to announce insulin is free now.” The prank tweet caused the company’s stock to drop over 4.37% and brought further public attention to the problems with the company’s insulin pricing.
In a statement made yesterday, Biden said: “For far too long, American families have been crushed by drug costs many times higher than what people in other countries are charged for the same prescriptions. Insulin costs less than $10 to make, but Americans are sometimes forced to pay over $300 for it.”
David A Ricks, Lilly’s chief executive officer, commented: “While the current healthcare system provides access to insulin for most people with diabetes, it still does not provide affordable insulin for everyone and that needs to change. The aggressive price cuts we’re announcing today should make a real difference for Americans with diabetes.”
Betsy Goodfellow
