Novo Nordisk is the second drug company to lower the price of insulin
U.S. prices of several pre-filled insulin pens and vials will be up to 75% lower starting in January 2024.
Photo: The Good Brigade/Getty Images
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk has announced it is lowering the U.S. list prices of several insulin products by up to 75% for people living with Type 1 and type 2 diabetes. It becomes the second drugmaker to do so, following Eli Lilly's announcement earlier this month that it was capping out-of-pocket costs to $35 a month for insulin.
Novo Nordisk products include both pre-filled pens and vials of basal (long-acting), bolus (short-acting) and pre-mix insulins, specifically Levemir, Novolin, NovoLog and NovoLog Mix 70/30. The company is also reducing the list price of unbranded biologics to match the lowered price of each respective branded insulin. These changes will go into effect on January 1, 2024.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Novo Nordisk said it recognizes that some patients find it difficult to pay for healthcare, including insulin. The company remains committed to reducing the burden of out-of-pocket costs, helping transform the complex pricing system and fostering better pricing predictability, it said.
American Diabetes Association Chief Advocacy Officer Lisa Murdock said, "We are pleased that more manufacturers are continuing to take steps to make insulin more affordable, and we hope others follow suit." The ADA said it has led the charge to enact cost-sharing limits on insulin in 22 states and D.C., and now the first-ever federal copay cap in Medicare.
The insulin provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act cap Medicare Part B beneficiary cost sharing at $35 for a month's supply of insulin.
THE LARGER TREND
Earlier this month, Eli Lilly announced that it was reducing the list price of its insulin by 70% and capping out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month as part of its Insulin Value Program. Lilly capped out-of-pocket costs at $35 at participating retail pharmacies for people with commercial insurance using Lilly insulin.
An HHS report showed the savings coming to roughly 1.5 million people in Medicare, thanks to the $35 cap on a month's supply of insulin through the Inflation Reduction Act.
The report also found that nationally, the average out-of-pocket cost was $58 per insulin fill in 2019, typically for a 30-day supply. Patients with private insurance or Medicare paid about $63 per fill on average, and one in five Americans taking insulin paid more than $70 per prescription, the report said.
ON THE RECORD
"We have been working to develop a sustainable path forward that balances patient affordability, market dynamics, and evolving policy changes," said Steve Albers, senior vice president, Market Access & Public Affairs at Novo Nordisk. "Novo Nordisk remains committed to ensuring patients living with diabetes can afford our insulins, a responsibility we take seriously."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org
Salim Ismail will offer more detail at his HIMSS23 presentation "Executive Summit Keynote: Disruptive Convergence." It is scheduled for Monday, April 17, at 3:45 - 4:30 p.m. CT at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, Level 4, in the Grand Horizon Ballroom.
