Explained: How the campaign in the US to make insulin cheaper just scored a major victory

There’s some good news for diabetics in the United States. Major drug manufacturer Eli Lilly said it will cut prices of its most commonly prescribed insulins up to 70 per cent and cap the price of the drug at $35 (Rs 2,889) a month for people with private insurance. The move was lauded by US president Joe Biden and called on other drugmakers to also lower insulin prices.

Last year, I signed the Inflation Reduction Act to cap insulin at $35 a month for seniors and called on pharma companies to bring prices down for everyone on their own.

Today, Eli Lilly did that. It’s a big deal, and it’s time for other manufacturers to follow.

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 2, 2023

The American Diabetes Association also applauded the decision, and encouraged other insulin manufacturers to lower costs. We take a better look at Eli Lilly’s announcement and why this is significant. Eli Lilly’s cheaper insulin Eli Lilly, the Indianapolis drugmaker, on Wednesday said that it would be cutting list prices by 70 per cent for the fast-acting injectable Humalog, which is the company’s most commonly prescribed insulin. Lilly also will discount an older fast-acting drug, Humulin. With this cut, the cost of Humalog U-100, 10 mL vial will drop from $274.70 (Rs 22,671) to $66.40 (Rs 5,480). Similarly, the price of Humulin U-100, 10 mL vials will drop from $148.70 (Rs 12,272) to $44.61 (Rs 3,681). These changes will come into effect between 1 October and 31 December. Lilly also will reduce the price of its non-branded, fast-acting insulin to $25 (Rs 2,064) a vial, down from $82.41 (Rs 6,805) effective 1 May. [caption id=“attachment_12231162” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Eli Lilly’s CEO says the company is reducing prices because ‘it’s time and it’s the right thing to do’. File image/Reuters[/caption] List prices are what a drugmaker initially sets for a product. People who have no insurance or healthcare plans with high deductibles are sometimes stuck paying those prices. The company also announced that it would be capping out-of-pocket costs for privately insured consumers at $35 a month at the “majority of retail pharmacies”. For those without insurance, the drugmaker offers a program savings card that will cap Lilly insulin at $35 a month. This is similar to the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which caps insulin costs at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare. David A Ricks, Lilly’s chair and CEO told CNN, “The aggressive price cuts we’re announcing today should make a real difference for Americans with diabetes.” He also called on the insurance industry, policymakers and other manufacturers to join them in making insulin more affordable. Skyrocketing price of insulin in US Insulin is made by the pancreas and used by the body to convert food into energy. People who have diabetes don’t produce enough insulin. People with Type 1 diabetes must take insulin every day to survive. It’s also a necessity for some people with Type 2 diabetes. The American Diabetes Association has revealed that more than 37 million Americans — about 11 per cent of the US – are living with diabetes and 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. However, as many as one in four insulin users report rationing their insulin — skipping doses or taking less than they need, putting themselves at risk for serious and even deadly complications. This is because the price of some insulin has grown by 1,000 per cent over the past 20 years, far outpacing inflation. Though insulin generally costs less than $10 (Rs 825) per dose to produce, some versions of the drug currently have a list price above $200 (Rs 16,518). And it’s a price that is completely out of line with the rest of the world. A RAND research of 2021 showed that drug companies charge more for insulin in the United States than elsewhere. For instance, in Canada the average list price for a vial of insulin in Canada was $12. Step across the border into America, and it’s $98.70. [caption id=“attachment_12230982” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption] The issue has also become a major rallying point for the general public and have been raising their sheer desperation on the issue. Voters of both parties —Democratic and Republican — say in overwhelming numbers that they want lawmakers to do something about the cost of insulin and on drug prices more broadly. Hence, Congress passed the Insulin Affordability and the Inflation Reduction Act in January this year, which limits insulin copays to $35 per month for Medicare Part D beneficiaries California has taken this one step further by authorising a $100 million public insulin project. According to this project, the state plans to partner with an existing enterprise — such as CivicaRx, a nonprofit conglomerate of hospital systems developing cheap generic drugs — to get its hands on a cheaper insulin supply sooner. But in the long term, the idea is to build a publicly owned factory, staffed by civil workers, which would produce its own generic insulin and sell it at roughly the price of the drug’s production. [caption id=“attachment_12231182” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A whopping 8.4 million Americans rely on insulin to survive. However, as many as one in four insulin users report rationing their insulin in the US owing to rising cost of the drug. File image/AFP[/caption] The future of insulin users in US Eli Lilly’s announcement has been well received by medical experts and the public as well. Lisa Murdock, chief advocacy officer for American Diabetes Association, said reducing out-of-pocket expenses for the drug is a crucial step. As drug companies have raised the price of insulin, insured consumers have absorbed some of those costs in the form of higher co-payments and deductibles. She added, “We can only hope that the other major manufacturers of insulin follow suit.” Echoing similar sentiments, Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University who studies drug costs, told the Associated Press that Lilly’s planned cuts “could actually provide some substantial price relief”. But with Lilly’s move, it looks like insulin prices will finally be lowered in the US after many years of out-of-control prices by big pharma companies. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.