Eli Lilly lowered insulin prices. This starts the race to the bottom.

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When drugmaker Eli Lilly announced Wed It will lower the list price of some insulin products after years of criticism from the FDA legislators and activists That the life-saving hormone has become so expensive, the news raised questions about what would happen to other efforts to provide low-cost insulin.

civica nonprofit drug company based in Utah, for example, said it plans to start selling biosynthetic insulin for roughly $30 per vial by 2024 — $5 more than the new price for generic Eli Lilly insulin.

In December, billionaire businessman Mark Cuban said his new companyMark Cuban Coast Plus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Plan to sell low-cost insulin. And California is preparing to launch an ambitious program to manufacture it hormone brandas well as generics for other expensive drugs.

Drug pricing experts welcomed Eli Lilly’s news, speculating that the move won’t undermine those efforts. And these other initiatives to bring lower-cost insulin to market will, in turn, put pressure on Eli Lilly to keep its prices down. Together, this will help, not hinder, what could become a race-down on insulin prices.

“The more competition there is, the more stable this solution will be so that five to 10 years from now prices won’t go up again,” he said. Dr. Vincent Rajkumaran oncologist at Mayo Clinic who was Prof A critic of high drug costs.

The pressure may cause more ripples. After the Eli Lilly news, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) sent letters to two of the top insulin makers, Sanofi And novo nordisk, Calling them to do the same.

Diabetics, especially those with type 1 who need medication to survive, will benefit. But even while some of Eli Lilly Die-hard critics applauded the moveThey note that work remains to be done to make insulin widely affordable.

said Elizabeth Pfister, founder T1 InternationalIt is a non-profit organization that advocates for people with diabetes. “That’s why the government also needs to regulate insulin manufacturers to hold them accountable.”

The Cuban company did not respond to requests for comment on how Eli Lilly’s cuts might affect its efforts. But Civic spokeswoman Debbie Ford said the Civic plan hasn’t changed after the news.

“From the beginning, we’ve said we’re not going to get into the drug market to gain market share,” Ford said. “We participate for market impact.”

Democratic Governor of California. tweeted Gavin Newsom Wednesday, that “insulin’s extremely high prices have put it out of reach for many” and his state will manufacture “its own insulin and ensure that everyone who needs this drug” can afford it.

“Now, Eli Lilly is cutting its cost,” Newsom wrote. “Let’s keep it.”

Last year, California lawmakers approved $100 million for the state to contract out cheaper insulin and produce the life-saving drug, cutting out drug makers and companies that add to the price consumers pay. Newsom said so Insulin California It will be available at “cheaper, close to cost”. Officials have not said when insulin will be available in the state, or exactly how much it will cost.

“California’s goal was to bring competition into the market however they could manage,” he said. Robin Feldman, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco School of Law who studies the insulin market. “If California’s entry leads to lower prices than other manufacturers, that would be a good thing.”

Eli Lilly’s price cuts apply to what she describes as “most common” insulins, but Feldman noted that these are older insulin products. Although California officials have not released details about which insulin products will be included in its program, Feldman said she expects the state to offer a variety to cover the market.

“It does not target any one company or property,” she said. “It aims to make affordable insulin available on the market and put pressure on other companies.”

Washington and maine are also exploring ways to bring cheap insulin to consumers, and large insurance companies It pledged millions in an agreement with Civica to make cheaper insulin.

The cadre of newcomers aims to open up the insulin market because three pharmaceutical companies – Eli Lilly and Co. And Sanofi and Novo Nordisk – have long controlled insulin supplies in the US and allowed their prices to skyrocket. For example, the price of an Eli Lilly product went up from $21 to $255 per vial Between 1996 and 2016.

Professor of Law at Saint Louis University Dr. Michael Sinha Eli Lilly said he may have seen a threat from insulin discounting initiatives.

“This may be in response to some of those initiatives and the looming threat of really heavy losses in terms of market share,” Sinha said.

Professor of Pharmacy, University of California, San Diego INamaculada Hernandez Provide another possible reason for price cuts: changes in How medications are paid for by Medicaid.

Beginning in 2024, Hernandez said, drugmakers could be on the hook for paying fees, known as rebates, to Medicaid for drugs like insulin that have seen prices skyrocket. Hernandez said that by lowering the menu price of insulin, Eli Lilly can avoid those costs.

Hernandez said understanding the incentives behind Eli Lilly’s decision to lower list prices could help lower the prices of other drugs that patients have difficulty affording. If the makers of those other drugs also lower their list prices before 2024, that could show the effectiveness of the new federal policy. If they do not, it may underscore the importance of unique factors such as insulin Public pressure from politicians and activists Or market competition from initiatives such as the California Initiative.

This story was produced by KHNthat publish California HealthlineIt is an editorially independent service California Health Care Corporation.


Kaiser Health News

This article has been reprinted from khn.org Courtesy of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.



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