Sanofi's Proposal to Reduce the Cost of Insulin

Sanofi intends to lower the cost of insulin in its business operations.

This month, the U.S. market has seen three major insulin manufacturers announce a decision similar to that of this particular company. They are all dominating the market.

Under mounting pressure to conform to the prevailing trend of price reductions in the sector, pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced on Thursday its decision to slash the price of its most frequently prescribed insulin by a staggering 78%.

The corporation announced that it will also restrict the maximum amount a diabetes patient with private health insurance has to pay for their out-of-pocket expenses to $35 per month.

Sanofi has announced that it will take action at the beginning of next year, joining Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk in making similar declarations this month. The big three companies oversee approximately 90% of the insulin market in the United States.

The decrease in prices is expected to lessen the frequency of financial struggles amongst Americans who have diabetes and require insulin to survive - a medication relied on by millions of people. Earlier this year, a new federal regulation came into effect to cap the monthly out-of-pocket expenses for insulin at $35 for individuals enrolled in Medicare.

President Biden and Democratic lawmakers have been praised for their role in encouraging drug companies to reduce their prices, but these manufacturers were already facing financial pressure to lower the costs of their older insulin products. Their focus has shifted increasingly to newer drugs for diabetes and obesity, and looming penalties were also a factor in these pricing decisions. The potential penalties would have required the companies to reimburse Medicaid for the high rates at which they had been raising prices, which further encouraged them to make pricing adjustments.

Sanofi has been consistently raising the price of their highly prescribed insulin, Lantus, for several years now. Lantus was initially approved by the FDA in 2000. Sanofi claims that it is earning less from their insulin products, taking into account discounts and rebates, as compared to ten years ago. They have put the blame on insurance providers, who they say are not transferring the savings to patients.

Sanofi had a plan to limit monthly insulin expenses at $35 per patient for those without insurance. Before this, all commercially protected individuals were qualified for Sanofi's co-pay assistance program, which substantially decreased prices for many of them, but there was no limit. With Sanofi's revised policy, the threshold will be immediately added at the pharmacy counter, making it simpler for patients to benefit from.