Insulin lispro biosimilar (Sanofi)

Sen. Bernie Sanders/Courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Cre Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Sanofi and Novo Nordisk urging them to lower insulin prices. Sen. Bernie Sanders/Courtesy of Gage Skidmore, Creative Commons Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, sent a letter to Sanofi and Novo Nordisk urging them to lower insulin prices. The letter follows Eli Lilly’s March 1 announcement that it would reduce the cost of its widely used insulin products by 70%. The Indianapolis pharma is also expanding its Insulin Value Program to cap patients’ out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month. The 70% price cut will include Humalog (insulin lispro injection), Lilly’s most commonly prescribed insulin, and Humulin (insulin human). These will be effective in the fourth quarter of 2023. On May 1, the cost of Lilly’s non-branded product Insulin Lispro Injection will drop to $25 per vial, making it the “lowest list-priced mealtime insulin available,” according to the company’s announcement. “We know that 7 out of 10 Americans don’t use Lilly insulin,” David Ricks, CEO, Lilly, said in a statement. Ricks urged “policymakers, employers and others” to also take steps to make insulin more affordable. “Sanofi believes that no one should struggle to pay for their insulin, regardless of their insurance status or income level, which is why we have a suite of innovative and patient-centric savings programs to help people reduce their prescription medicine costs,” said Olivier Bogillot, head of U.S. General Medicines, Sanofi in a statement. In an email to BioSpace , Bogillot said the company’s copay assistance programs are available to all commercially insured consumers, regardless of income level and insurance plan. For most participating patients, Sanofi’s copay program limits out-of-pocket expenses for diabetes medicines to $15. For its part, Novo is also running several programs to make insulin more accessible to patients, Natalia Salomao, senior director, Corporate Reputation & Brand, told BioSpace in an email. The company has an offering through Walmart that provides insulin at around $25 per vial, she said. In identical letters sent to Paul Hudson and Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, CEOs of Sanofi and Novo, respectively, the independent policymaker called on both companies to substantially lower their insulin prices. Together with Lilly, Sanofi and Novo control around 90% of the insulin market in the U.S. In the letters, Sanders detailed how insulin prices in the U.S. have increased by more than 1,000% since 1996 due to what he called “unacceptable corporate greed.” In 2019, the drug cost an average of $58 per 30-day fill, according to a U.S. Department of HHS report. For 24% of consumers, insulin fills cost more than $70. Insulin was discovered by Canadian scientists in 1921, who sold the patent for $1. “People with diabetes should not be forced to pay $98 for a vial of insulin that costs just $8 to manufacture and can be purchased in Canada for just $12,” Sanders said. Sanders also plans to introduce legislation to put a $20 cap on insulin prices per vial.

As the House-passed bill to cap the monthly price of insulin at $35 nationwide makes its way for a Senate vote soon, Sanofi announced Wednesday morning that beginning next month it will cut the monthly price of its insulins for uninsured Americans to $35, down from $99 previously. The announcement from Sanofi, which allows the uninsured to buy one or multiple Sanofi insulins (Lantus, Insulin Glargine U-100, Toujeo, Admelog, and Apidra) at $35 for a 30-day supply effective July 1, follows House passage (232-193) of the monthly cap in March, with just 12 Republicans voting in favor of the measure. While both the Senate and the House bills effectively cut what many of those who rely on insulin to stay alive will pay at the pharmacy counter, it doesn’t hit the prices set by the pharma manufacturers, nor does it help those who are uninsured. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) similarly said in March that a vote was coming soon then. Insulin juggernaut Eli Lilly — one of the big three manufacturers along with Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — previously told Endpoints News exclusively that it supports the bill. A Sanofi spokesperson similarly said the company supported the bill but with some reservations, telling Endpoints via email: Sanofi, meanwhile, says that all commercially insured people are eligible for its co-pay assistance programs, regardless of income or insurance, “which limits out-of-pocket expenses for a majority of people between $0 and $10.” But the company also confirmed that some diabetics taking Sanofi’s insulins would see savings with the House bill. In 2021, about 68% of patients with commercial insurance paid $35 or less out of pocket per fill for Sanofi’s Lantus, a spokesperson added, as did about 72% of patients with Medicare Part D. But some insulin price advocates don’t think this latest Sanofi move really goes far enough. “It’s not even a band-aid on a bullet wound, because it’s a voluntary program that Sanofi can end at any time,” Laura Marston, an attorney with type 1 diabetes who advocates for lower insulin prices, told Endpoints, adding: