Sanofi announces insulin price cuts, $35 monthly cap for people with commercial insurance
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Key takeaways:
- Sanofi will cut insulin prices by 70% or more and cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 for people with commercial insurance
- Sanofi follows Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in announcing insulin price cuts.
Following on the heels of Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, Sanofi announced it will reduce the price of two of its branded insulins as well as cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for people with commercial health insurance.
According to a press release from the company, Sanofi will reduce the price of 100 units/mL insulin glargine injection (Lantus) by 78% as well as 100 units/mL short-acting insulin glulisine injection (Apidra) by 70% beginning Jan. 1, 2024. The move follows the company’s launch of an unbranded insulin glargine biologic last June with a price 60% less than the branded Lantus.
Additionally, Sanofi announced patients with commercial insurance will pay no more than $35 out-of-pocket per month for insulin. Combined with the company’s Insulins Valyou Savings Program that caps out-of-pocket costs at $35 per month for those without insurance and the insulin cap instituted for Medicare beneficiaries in 2023, no patient will pay more than $35 for a monthly supply of insulin, the company stated.
“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, head of U.S. general medicines for Sanofi, said in the release. “We launched our unbranded biologic for Lantus at 60% less than the Lantus list price in June 2022 but, despite this pioneering low-price approach, the health system was unable to take advantage of it due to its inherent structural challenges. We are pleased to see others join our efforts to help patients as we now accelerate the transformation of the U.S. insulin market. 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.”
In the span of less than 3 weeks, the three largest manufacturers of insulin in the U.S. market have all announced substantial reductions in insulin prices. As Healio previously reported, Eli Lilly was the first company to make an announcement on March 1 when it stated it will cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 per month for all people with commercial insurance. Additionally, Eli Lilly will reduce the price of its brand-name insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL (Humalog) and its human insulin injection 100 units/mL (Humulin) by 70% in the fourth quarter of 2023. The price of Lilly’s non-branded insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL will drop to $25 a vial on May 1, 2023.
On March 14, Novo Nordisk followed with an announcement of insulin price cuts of up to 75%. As Healio previously reported, Novo Nordisk will reduce the price of its branded insulin aspart (NovoLog) and insulin aspart protamine/insulin aspart mix (NovoLog Mix 70/30) by 75%, and the price of the unbranded insulins will drop to match the price of the branded products. Additionally, the price of the company’s insulin detemir (Levemir) and human insulin (Novolin) will be cut by 65%.
All three companies announced price reductions just a few months after a new law capped the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries. As Healio previously reported, the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022 included the new Medicare insulin cap. The approval of the cap came after several previous attempts to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs fell short.
In a statement, Lisa Murdock, chief advocacy officer for the American Diabetes Association, praised the three companies for announcing insulin price cuts and said the organization will continue to advocate to make sure all Americans have access to affordable insulin.
“The ADA is the leading voice advocating for insulin affordability and is working to ensure that all people with diabetes have access to the care they need,” Murdock said in a statement. “The ADA has led the charge to enact cost-sharing limits on insulin in 22 states and D.C., and the first-ever federal copay cap in Medicare. We are encouraged that all of the major manufacturers have taken steps to make insulin more affordable, but the fight is not over. We will continue advocating for efforts in Congress and states across the country to ensure insulin is affordable to everyone with diabetes who relies on it to survive.”
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