Eli Lilly to Cut Prices of Insulin Drugs by 70%

Eli Lilly & Co., facing pressure to curb diabetes-treatment costs, will cut the list prices for its most commonly prescribed insulin products by 70% and take other steps to make it easier for patients to afford the drugs. 

The Indianapolis-based company said Wednesday the 70% price cuts will take effect in the fourth quarter for Humalog and Humulin, its two biggest-selling insulin products. 

The company also said that on May 1 it would reduce the list price of an unbranded insulin it sells to $25 a vial from $82 a vial, the lowest level for any insulin that diabetes patients take around mealtimes, and less than Lilly’s list price for a Humalog vial in 1999. And it plans to improve a program capping patients’ out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month.

“The aggressive price cuts we’re announcing today should make a real difference for Americans with diabetes,” said Lilly Chief Executive David Ricks. 

Drugmakers including Lilly, Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA substantially raised the prices for their insulin products during the 2010s.