Eli Lilly to cut insulin prices by 70%, cap monthly costs at $35

Eli Lilly plans to cut prices on its most commonly prescribed insulin products by 70% and will also cap customers’ out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month for those with commercial insurance who use its insulin. 

The change comes as Eli Lilly and other insulin manufacturers face ongoing criticism for their prices, which have pushed more people with diabetes to ration insulin or reduce their use of the medication. Insulin rationing can lead to illness and death, while some groups contend that unaffordable insulin may constitute a human rights abuse.

About 3 in 10 diabetics in the U.S. rely on insulin from Eli Lilly, one of three drug companies, along with Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, that control the market for the drug. Since introducing their analog insulin products more than two decades ago, the three drugmakers have sharply raised prices for the medications, which control blood sugar more effectively than so-called human insulin.

“Today is really about lowering the cost of older insulins, that’s what people expect from our industry,” Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said on a conference call to discuss the company’s new pricing scheme. He added, “We are doing this completely voluntarily because it’s time and it’s the right thing to do.”

The company’s price reductions come after lawmakers last year considered a bill to cap insulin prices at $35 a month, a push that was adopted by Medicare in 2023, although it doesn’t apply to private insurance, Medicaid and other plans. It also follows moves by other insulin makers to cut insulin prices, with Sanofi last year slashing costs for uninsured patients to $35 a month and Novo Nordisk also lowering prices.

Ricks said Eli Lilly backs legislation that would impose a $35 per month price cap for insulin covered under private health insurance plans. 

“We are left in 2023 with a split situation,” he said. Seniors “enjoy that $35 cap, but in that commercial market it’s quite a mixed picture.”

Humalog pricing

Eli Lilly on Wednesday said it will cut the list price of its Humalog 100 units/mL1, its most commonly prescribed insulin, by 70%. The price cut will take effect during the fourth quarter of 2023, the company said in a statement. 

The company said that the list price of Humalog U-100 10 mL vials will drop from $274.70 to $66.40.

The list price of Humulin U-100 10 mL vials will drop from $148.70 to $44.61, it added.

The drugmaker said it will also cut the list price of its non-branded insulin, called Insulin Lispro Injection 100 units/mL, to $25 a vial, which will go into effect on May 1. That amounts to a lower price than a vial of Humalog in 1999, the company noted.

Eli Lilly also said it will cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 at participating retail pharmacies for people with insurance who are prescribed the company’s insulin. People without insurance can download an Insulin Value Program savings card to buy Lilly insulin products for $35 a month, it added.

The price cuts come after the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act capped the price of insulin at $35 a month for enrollees in Medicare, the health insurance plan for people who are 65 or older.