A pharmacist holds a box of the drug Lantus SoloStar, made by Sanofi Pharmaceutical, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, January 9, 2020.
George Frey | Reuters
Sanofi on Thursday said it’s planning to chop the U.S. price of its hottest insulin drug by 78% and cap monthly out-of-pocket costs at $35 for individuals who have private insurance starting next 12 months.Â
Along with its widely prescribed Lantus, the French drugmaker will reduce the list price of its short-acting insulin Apidra by 70%. Sanofi already offers a $35 monthly cap on insulin for uninsured diabetes patients.
The corporate is the last major insulin manufacturer to try to move off government efforts to cap monthly costs by announcing its own steep price cuts for the lifesaving hormone.Â
Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk made similar sweeping cuts earlier this month after years of political pressure and public outrage over the high costs of diabetes care. The three firms control over 90% of the worldwide insulin market.Â
“Sanofi believes that nobody should struggle to pay for his or her insulin and we’re happy with our continued actions to enhance access and affordability for hundreds of thousands of patients for a few years,” said Olivier Bogillot, Sanofi’s U.S. head of general medicines. The change takes effect Jan. 1.
President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act capped monthly insulin costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $35, but it surely didn’t provide protection to diabetes patients who’re covered by private insurance.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent and the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced a bill earlier this month that may cap the list price of insulin at $20 per vial.
Each the president and Sanders on Tuesday directly called on Sanofi to slash its prices after Novo Nordisk announced its own cuts that day.
Roughly 37 million people within the U.S., or 11.3% of the country’s population, have diabetes, in keeping with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Roughly 8.4 million diabetes patients depend on insulin, the American Diabetes Association said.
