Eli Lilly announces price break on insulin

Under pressure from politicians and patient groups, diabetes pharmaceutical giants have been taking action in recent weeks to limit the effect of rising insulin prices on patients.

On Tuesday, Eli Lilly and Co. announced that starting in January patients who pay full retail price for insulin will be able to access a 40 percent discount. Earlier this month, Novo Nordisk said it would limit its price increases on insulin to a single digit percentage per year.

The Eli Lilly discount program only will help people without insurance or who are in the high-deductible phase of a health plan. But the action is part of a widening public discussion among drug companies in response to public scrutiny of its pricing policies.

Insulin prices have increased well above inflation over the past two decades.

A version of insulin with a list price of $17 a vial in 1997 is priced at $138 today. A two-decade-old insulin that launched at $21 a vial has been hiked to $255.

Some industry leaders have argued that unless pharmaceutical companies address problems of access and affordability, they may face government actions that don't benefit them. President-elect Donald Trump recently said that he plans to intervene, although the details of what he might do are not clear.

Eli Lilly said that it decided to offer the discount program after months of meeting with leaders in the patient community. People will be able to order the discounted drug through a company called Blink Health, which operates a website and app.

'We understand the burden people face when paying full price for insulin,” Mike Mason, vice president of Lilly Diabetes said in a statement.

Lilly makes several insulin products. Its 20-year-old insulin, Humalog, has increased in list price from $21 a vial in 1996 to $255 today. Last month, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., requested an investigation into the lockstep price increases of competing insulins, suggesting the companies might be coordinating on pricing.

Insulin companies have denied any collusion and Lilly has argued that despite list price increases, the rebates it grants have washed out the effect of price increases since 2009.