Drugs giant Eli Lilly caps monthly insulin costs in US at $35

Drug giant Eli Lilly has announced a $35 (£30) cap on the monthly costs patients face for insulin in the US, responding to outcry over the soaring cost of the diabetes medication.

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, which often requires daily injections to control.

Last year, the US passed a law capping monthly costs at $35 for people with certain government health insurance.

But for many people with private insurance the costs remain much higher.

Eli Lilly said it would institute the cap on out-of-pocket costs for Lilly insulin users immediately as it prepares to cut the list price of two of its most commonly prescribed insulins, Humalog and Humalin, by 70% by the end of the year.

It is also dropping the list price of its non-branded insulin, Lispro, to $25 a vial, effective 1 May.

"While the current healthcare system provides access to insulin for most people with diabetes, it still does not provide affordable insulin for everyone and that needs to change," said David A Ricks, Lilly's Chair and CEO.

"The aggressive price cuts we're announcing today should make a real difference."

He said the cap on monthly costs would go into effect immediately because it would take time for the insurance and pharmacy system to implement the price cuts.

The average price per vial of insulin in the US was more than $98 in 2018, compared with less than $7 in Australia, $12 in Canada and less than $8 in the UK, according to a 2020 Rand study.

Even after insurance discounts were taken into account, patients likely faced costs roughly four times the average elsewhere, it found.

"We applaud Eli Lilly for taking the important step to limit cost-sharing for its insulin, and we encourage other insulin manufacturers to do the same," said Charles "Chuck" Henderson, chief executive of the American Diabetes Association.

His organisation estimates that more than eight million people in the US use insulin to control their diabetes.