Novo Nordisk says it will cut the price of insulin

The company's decision follows a similar move by rival Eli Lilly earlier this month.

The drug Novo Nordisk announced on Tuesday that it would cut the list prices of several of its insulin products by up to 70%, reversing years of price increases in the face of growing pressure .

The company did not announce any changes to reimbursable costs for patients with diabetes, but said its existing programs are keeping those costs as low as $25 per vial for many patients. Instead, the price reduction will only affect the list price, which is the starting point for a series of negotiations and discounts that ultimately determine the cost of a medicine.

< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">The move by Novo Nordisk, one of the world's largest insulin makers, followed a similar move by rival Eli Lilly this month, after President Biden, lawmakers and patient advocates have called on the company to cut costs for patients. Earlier this year, a federally imposed cap began limiting insulin out-of-pocket payments to $35 per month for Medicare-covered seniors.

Novo Nordisk said its price cuts would take effect early next year. The list price for a vial of fast-acting NovoLog, one of the most widely used insulin products, will drop to $72 from $289. The new price was still about double what it was when NovoLog was introduced in 2000.

Novo Nordisk said its price reductions would also apply NovoLog, long-acting Levemir, intermediate-acting Novolin, and several generic insulins. life, has been a point of contention for years amid growing concern over high drug prices. Although manufacturers have long had programs designed to limit out-of-pocket spending, patients aren't always aware of them, and even when they do, they can have strict eligibility requirements and be difficult to navigate. Some patients, faced with out-of-pocket costs of several hundred dollars a month, have had to resort to insulin rationing.

The effects of manufacturers' price cuts can be limit. There is often a significant discrepancy between the list price of an insulin product and the net price the company charges insurers after taking into account discounts and rebates. Insulin makers, which have repeatedly raised prices for years, have blamed drug benefit managers, who act as middlemen to negotiate prices on behalf of health plans, for clawing back deeper discounts.

Sanofi, the third of three makers that dominate the US insulin market, declined to comment on whether it would follow rivals. Olivier Bogillot, a Sanofi executive, said in a statement that all commercially insured and uninsured patients were eligible for programs that would significantly limit their out-of-pocket expenses.