Amid consumer fears and political pressure over the price of life-saving insulin, Sanofi announced Thursday that it will cut the price of Lantus, the most prescribed insulin.
Sanofi offered the last stand among the three companies with 90% of the market. global insulin market by value. Earlier this week, Novo Nordisk followed suit with plans to cut Eli Lilly’s U.S. prices by up to 75% and 70%, respectively.
Sanofi said it will cut the price of Lantus by 78% and the short-acting Apidra by 70% after January 1, 2024.
The prices of insulin set by these companies have come under increasing scrutiny by analysts, politicians, and patient advocates. changes in affect the price reduction.
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But more needs to be done, says Elizabeth Pfiester, founder and executive director of T1International, an advocacy group for people with type 1 diabetes.
Life-saving drugs are needed by millions.a 2020 survey Her organization found that 1 in 4 people with type 1 diabetes are being given insulin to pay for it. Patients also struggled to pay their out-of-pocket costs for necessary supplies such as insulin pumps, test strips, and continuous glucose monitors.
Her organization promotes federal policies to keep insulin costs down.
“It’s great that they chose to lower the price,” Pfister said of the insulin manufacturer. “But they can choose to raise the price again.”
Sanofi cuts list price of Lantus
The list price for Sanofi is $292 per vial of Lantus and is the amount charged before discount programs or price negotiations with health insurance companies. When Sanofi drops his January 1 price, Lantus will cost about $64 per vial.
The company also announced a price cap that guarantees patients will pay $35 or more for a monthly supply of Lantus.
The Paris-based pharmaceutical company previously said most people with private insurance already pay $15 or less through a co-pay assistance program. A drug company program for the uninsured offers him 30 days for $35.
“Our insulin list price does not reflect the actual net price paid to Sanofi after various discounts and rebates,” Sanofi said in a statement. , the net price of insulin has fallen for the eighth straight year, making our insulin significantly cheaper for insurance plans.”
Sanofi has pledged to listen to patients, advocates, caregivers and others to “better understand additional actions that can be taken to address access and affordability issues.”
Why Is Insulin So Expensive?
Over the past two decades, the price of insulin charged by three major pharmaceutical manufacturers has skyrocketed. According to the American Diabetes Association, the average price of insulin nearly tripled between 2002 and 2013.
Senate Finance Committee investigation In 2021, we found that drug price increases are consistent with requests for lucrative rebates from insurance companies and pharmacy benefits managers., They are drug pricing intermediaries who demand hefty rebates in exchange for being favorably placed in the drug formularies of private insurance plans.
In the last decade, administrators of these pharmacies began pitting pharmaceutical companies against each other by excluding them from large blocks of patients through formulary exclusions, according to a report by the Senate Finance Committee. rice field.
Why Insulin Prices Are Starting to Fall
Last year’s broad climate and health bill, called the Cut Inflation Act, caps Medicare subscribers’ insulin costs at $35 a month. I asked for it to be extended to young Americans with insurance.
According to the American Diabetes Association, Washington, DC and 22 states have put limits on how much consumers can afford to buy insulin.
Pharmaceutical companies are also preparing for drug price changes under Medicaid, a federal health program for low-income families. Medicaid demanded that drug companies pay rebates if they raised their prices significantly over time. But the amount pharmaceutical companies paid for Medicaid has been capped over the past few years.
The new provision, which is part of the American Relief Plan Act passed in 2021, remove rebate cap From next year. In other words, drug companies could face significant financial penalties starting next year, said Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn Research, a nonprofit that tracks drug prices.
In particular, the removal of this Medicaid rebate cap could influence pharmaceutical companies’ decisions to significantly lower the list price of insulin, Ciaccia said.
“It’s one thing for drug manufacturers to give something away for free,” said Ciaccia. “Literally paying for the privilege of doing so is another.”
Market dynamics mean insulin will continue to get cheaper
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are also facing changing market dynamics.
Founded by tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban, Cost Plus Drugs aims to eliminate pharmacy benefits managers and bring affordable drugs to consumers. The company Insulin test program.
Meanwhile, CivicaRX plans to manufacture and sell market discount biopharmaceuticals compatible with Lantus, Humalog and Novolog.
The nonprofit, which is building a manufacturing facility in Virginia, plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for approval of insulin products starting next year, a spokesperson said.
46brooklyn’s Ciaccia said these older insulin drugs also face competition from newer insulin products and weight-loss drugs such as Ozempic.
“This article is from a market perspective,” Chacha said.
How much does insulin cost?
Before the company announced price cuts, insulin was about $300 per vial.
Eli Lilly, the first to announce price cuts on insulin this month, is cutting the price of Humalog, the drug’s most commonly prescribed insulin, from $274.70 to $66.40 per vial. The price will be reduced within the remaining three months of this year.
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is cutting the price of its top-selling Novolog from $289.36 to $72.34 per vial. Novo’s discount is valid from January 1st.
pressure ratchet up
This week, President Joe Biden said he was happy Novo followed Lilly’s price cuts, urging “others to follow suit.”
US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said on social media earlier in the week: That ‘grassroots pressure’ led to price cuts for Lilly and Novo, added that “Sanofi must comply.” The week before, he and US Congressman Cori his Bush (D-Mo.) introduced a bill that would limit the list price of insulin to $20 per vial.
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Ken Alltucker can be found on Twitter at @kalltucker or emailed at [email protected].
