USA — Novo Nordisk has followed in the footsteps of Eli Lilly by announcing a reduction in the prices of its insulin products in the United States two weeks after Lilly’s announcement.
Novo Nordisk has revealed that it would decrease the list price of its NovoLog insulin by 75%, while Novolin and Levemir costs will be cut by 65%.
These reductions will become effective from January 1, 2024, according to the drugmaker. Additionally, the company will lower the price of its unbranded biologics to align with the reduced prices of the branded insulins.
The move by both drugmakers comes in response to pressure from the U.S. government to make insulin more affordable for Americans.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly called for insulin prices to be capped at $35, most recently in his State of the Union address last month.
Lilly had previously announced a 70% price cut for its most frequently prescribed diabetes treatments and had capped the out-of-pocket expenses for insured patients at $35 per month.
President Biden has warned that he will veto any attempts by the Republican-controlled House to undo the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes a provision to make insulin available to Medicare patients for US$35 per month.
Following Eli Lilly’s decision to reduce insulin prices, Senator Bernie Sanders, a longtime critic of the pharmaceutical industry, sent letters to Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, the other two major producers of diabetes medications, urging them to lower the “outrageous” cost of insulin in the U.S.
Sanofi had already announced plans to lower the price of its insulin for uninsured individuals in the U.S. from US$99 to US$35 per month last summer.
Novo Nordisk’s price cuts mean that the list price of NovoLog insulin will decrease from US$558.83 to US$139.71 for a five-pack of injection pens and from US$289.36 to US$72.34 for a vial.
The new prices of Levemir will be US$161.77 for an injection pen and US$107.85 for a vial. It should be noted that insured individuals typically do not pay the list price of medications.
Steve Albers, Novo Nordisk’s Senior VP of Market Access & Public Affairs, stated that the company has been working to strike a balance between patient affordability, market conditions, and policy changes to establish a sustainable path forward.
Novo Nordisk’s price changes come amid increased demand for non-insulin diabetes treatment Ozempic and obesity drug Wegovy.
The company reported a revenue increase of 16% last year and is projecting a similar sales boost this year
Meanwhile, health policy experts are warning that expanding Medicare coverage for obesity drugs could lead to significant costs for the federal insurer, potentially leading to increased premiums in the long run.
According to a perspective piece in the New England Journal of Medicine, even a small uptake of obesity drugs by Medicare could be costly, with fewer benefits and more risks for older people.
If 10% of adults 60 and older with obesity used Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy at its net annual price of US$13,600, it would cost Medicare US$27 billion a year.
Even a more conservative estimate of 10% uptake among those with a reported obesity diagnosis would cost about US$14 billion a year.
Despite studies showing that only a small percentage of eligible patients take obesity medication, makers of highly effective new treatments such as Novo’s Wegovy are lobbying for Medicare to cover the cost.
This has sparked a contentious political battle, even as about 42% of Americans live with obesity, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Additionally, Eli Lilly & Co.’s diabetes drug, Mounjaro, was found to help patients lose about 21% of their body weight, leading to increased demand and shortages of similar diabetes drugs such as Novo’s Ozempic, which are currently only approved to treat diabetes.
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