On this photo, an insulin pen manufactured by Novo Nordisk is displayed on March 14, 2023 in Miami, Florida.
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Top managers of three pharmaceutical companies that control 90% of the global market insulin The market will testify on May 10 before the Senate Health Committee on the reduction in the price of its diabetes drugs, the chairman of the senate panel. Bernie Sanders said Friday.
These companies – Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi – announced in March that they might cut the prices of their most used insulin products by 70% or more.
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Sanders on Friday called the move a vital step forward that was the result of “public outrage and robust grassroots efforts.”
But Vermont, an independent, added that Congress must be certain that insulin, the price of which has increased greater than 1,000% since 1996, is on the market to everyone.
“Nevertheless, we must be certain that these price reductions go into effect in such a way that each American gets the insulin they need at an inexpensive price,” Sanders said in an announcement announcing the scheduled testimony of Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson and CEO of Novo Nordisk Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen.
The companies’ versions of insulin cost a minimum of $275 before the announced price cuts, Sanders noted.
Eli Lilly declined to comment when asked about the scheduled trial. A Sanofi spokesperson said the company supports cost-cutting efforts and believes other parts of the health system have to do more to assist patients. Novo Nordisk said its CEO looked forward to a “productive and collaborative discussion on this essential issue.”
Top Managers of the Top Three Pharmacy Advantages Managers CVS HealthExpress scripts and Optum Rx also testify, in keeping with Sanders’ office. These directors include David Joyner, president of CVS Health’s pharmaceutical services; Adam Kautzner, president of Express Scripts; and Heather Cianfrocco, CEO of Optum Rx.
Pharmacy profit managers are intermediaries who negotiate drug prices with manufacturers on behalf of medical insurance plans. PBMs have received criticism for allegedly overpricing drugs and failing to pass on to consumers all the discounts they negotiate.
The Department of Health and Social Care estimates that 17% of patients using insulin in 2021 needed to ration the drug resulting from high costs.
In accordance with the HHS, about 19% of people using insulin with private insurance rationed the drug, and 29% of uninsured individuals who use insulin did so.
The drugmakers’ decision to lower insulin prices comes a month after President Joe Biden urged Congress in his State of the Union address to limit insulin prices to $35 a month.
The Biden Inflation Reduction Act introduced this limit for people on Medicare, the government’s medical insurance program for mostly seniors, but the law didn’t cover individuals with private insurance.
In accordance with the HHS, greater than 2 million diabetes patients who take insulin are privately insured.
The department says about 150,000 insulin patients are uninsured.
On Thursday, two senators, Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H. and Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced bipartisan laws that will require private medical insurance to limit prices to $35 per 30 days for one type of insulin and dosage form. The bill includes other measures to cut back prices.
Types of insulin include rapid, short-acting, intermediate, and long-acting, in addition to pre-mixed. Dosage forms include vials, pens, and inhalers.