The three largest insulin manufacturers in the United States have all announced they will cap out-of-pocket costs of their popular insulin products at $35 per a month, following political pressure from Congress.
Together, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk make up roughly 90% of the insulin market in the U.S. Congressional leaders and President Joe Biden have called on insulin manufacturers to lower prices of the drugs for people on commercial plans on the heels of the Inflation Reduction Act capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 a month for Medicare beneficiaries.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced Thursday it will cap the out-of-pocket costs of its most popular insulin, Lantus, at $35 per month for people with private insurance and reduce the price of its fast-acting insulin, Apidra, by 70% beginning at the start of next year, becoming the last of the three to cut costs.
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Biden is claiming the reductions as a victory for the pressure he has applied.
“All three of the leading insulin producers in America have agreed to substantially reduce their prices, following my calls to expand my $35 cap for seniors to all Americans,” Biden said in a statement Thursday. “Sanofi is the latest company to recognize that charging hundreds of dollars for insulin that costs $10 to produce is just wrong, especially when the lives of so many children, parents, and grandparents depend on it.”
“Sanofi believes that no one should struggle to pay for their insulin, and we are proud of our continued actions to improve access and affordability for millions of patients for many years,” Olivier Bogillot, the head of U.S. general medicines for Sanofi, said. “Our decision to cut the list price of our lead insulin needs to be coupled with broader change to the overall system to actually drive savings for patients at the pharmacy counter.”
Sanofi has already capped insulin for people without insurance at $35 per a month.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Sanofi to drop the list price of insulin voluntarily following Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk’s announcements, arguing that doing so would “save lives and move our country one step closer to ending our insulin affordability crisis.”
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A proposal to extend the insulin price cap for those covered under private insurance was rejected by Republican senators during negotiations for the Inflation Reduction Act, though the law later passed without GOP support.
Biden included a provision to cap the cost of monthly out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 for people covered under commercial plans in his budget proposal released last week.
