Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Co. announced Wednesday the company plans to cut the price of commonly used insulin by 70%, capping out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month.
Lilly intends to cut prices for two popular kinds of insulin injections, Humalog and Humalin, starting in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a press release. The out-of-pocket price will go into effect immediately “at participating retail pharmacies for people with commercial insurance using Lilly insulin.”
As part of the company’s sweeping changes, Lilly is also promising to help people without health insurance as well as those with private insurance. Uninsured customers can go to insulinaffordability.com and download a “savings card” to take advantage of the same price, according to the press release.
Lilly also announced a price drop for its non-branded insulin, Insulin Lispro Injection. The new price of $25 per vial will go into effect May 1, 2023 and is “the lowest list-priced mealtime insulin available,” according to the company. The current list price per vial is $82.41, CNN reported.
Lilly CEO and Chair David A. Ricks urged lawmakers and other companies to follow suit. “We are calling on policymakers, employers and others to join us in making insulin more affordable,” he said in Wednesday’s announcement.
FILE PHOTO: An Eli Lilly and Company pharmaceutical manufacturing plant is pictured at 50 ImClone Drive in Branchburg, New Jersey, March 5, 2021. Picture taken March 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo
Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that regulates glucose in the bloodstream. The lack of insulin produced naturally can cause someone to develop diabetes. The average list price for a vial of insulin in America was $98.70 per vial in 2018, according to a study conducted by the Rand Corporation. Japan had the next-highest average price per vial at $14.40 for all types of insulin, the study found. (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Says Big Pharma’s Lobbying Of ‘Politicians’ ‘Pays Off’)
President Joe Biden called on pharmaceuticals to enact a universal monthly price cap for medicare recipients during his State of the Union Address in early February. “Let’s finish the job this time. Let’s cap the cost of insulin for everybody at $35,” Biden told Congress.