Eli Lilly and Company announced this week that it will offer an authorized generic version of the insulin Humalog (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL) to U.S. pharmacies 50 percent lower than current list price – a move the company said in a press release that is intended to help patients better afford the out-of-pocket expense of obtaining the diabetes medication.
“We’ve engaged in discussions about the price of insulin with many different stakeholders in America’s healthcare system: people living with diabetes, caregivers, advocacy groups, health care professionals, payers, wholesalers, lawmakers, and leading health care scholars,” said David A. Ricks, Lilly’s chairman and chief executive officer in a prepared statement. “Solutions that lower the cost of insulin at the pharmacy have been introduced in recent months, but more people need help. The significant rebates we pay on insulins do not directly benefit all patients. This needs to change.”
Lilly says the generic version, available from a Lilly subsidiary, ImClone Systems, is called Insulin Lispro which is the same molecule as Humalog and that patients will have both vial and pen options. A single vial will cost $137.35 and a five-pack of KwikPens will be $265.20. The medicine has been developed already, Lilly said, and the company is currently collaborating with its supply chain partners to get the products to market as quickly as possible. Humalog is still available for patients who want it. “Introducing an alternative insulin option allows Lilly to provide a lower-priced insulin more quickly while providing payers time to renegotiate downstream contracts and adjust to new system economics,” Lilly said.
In addition to the introduction of Lilly’s Insulin Lispro, the company says it has taken several other steps to help consumers with diabetes afford their medicines.
