Eli Lilly to cut cost of insulin by up to 70%

Eli Lilly is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world.

They announced that they will cut the cost of insulin up to 70%.

They also pointed out that they will expand the cost cap.

Great new for diabetes sufferers! Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced that they will lower the cost of two of its most commonly prescribed insulins. They will also expand the $35 cost cap.

It is expected that the pharmaceutical company’s price cuts will take effect by the end of the year, possibly as early as October. However, they will immediately be expanding the $35 monthly cost cap for those who aren’t covered by Medicare.

Eli Lilly to lower insulin prices

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Eli Lilly will cut prices on some older insulins later this year and immediately give more patients access to a cap on their monthly prescription costs. The moves announced Wednesday promise critical relief for some people with diabetes who currently have to pay thousands of dollars for life-saving medication.

Eli Lilly’s changes also come as lawmakers and patient advocates are pushing drugmakers to do something about price gouging, AP reported.

Eli Lilly will cut insulin costs by up to 70%

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Eli Lilly said it will cut the list prices of its most prescribed insulin, Humalog, and another insulin, Humulin, by 70% or more in the fourth quarter, which begins in October. A Lilly spokeswoman said the current list price for a 10-milliliter vial of Humalog, a rapid-acting mealtime insulin, is $274.70. That will drop to $66.40.

List prices are what a drug manufacturer initially sets for a product and what people with no insurance or high-deductible plans sometimes have to pay.

Lilly CEO says the change is to help patients

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He also said that the same amount of Humulin currently costs $148.70. That will change to $44.61, Lilly CEO David Ricks said Wednesday that his company was making these changes to address issues affecting the price patients ultimately pay for their insulin.

He noted that the discounts Lilly offers from its list prices often don’t reach patients through insurers or pharmacy benefit managers. “We know that the current US health care system has gaps,” he said. “This makes a tough disease like diabetes even harder to manag.”

Lowering costs will not cause problems for the company

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Lilly’s planned cuts «could actually provide substantial price relief,» said Stacie Dusetzina, a professor of health policy at Vanderbilt University who studies drug costs, according to The Associated Press.

The price cuts likely won’t affect Lilly much financially because the insulins are older and some already face competition. Lilly also said Wednesday that it will lower the price of its licensed generic version of Humalog to $25 per vial starting in May.