Reliance Imperial Pharmacy
News Bulletin
March 2023
Eli Lilly and Company lowers Insulin price and launches Rezvoglar
Eli Lilly and Company is launching a basal insulin at a significantly lower price that is biosimilar to, and interchangeable with, Lantus (insulin glargine) injection.
The product, Rezvoglar, an insulin glargine-aglr injection, will cost $92 per five-pack of KwikPens, a 78% discount to Lantus. It is expected to be available April 1.
That is just one way the company is taking a leading role in lowering insulin prices. It also is cutting the list price of the nonbranded Insulin Lispro Injection 100 units/mL to $25 a vial, effective May 1, 2023. That will make it the lowest list-priced mealtime insulin available; Lilly points out that the price is lower than what a Humalog vial was listed at in 1999.
The list price of Humalog (insulin lispro injection) 100 units/mL, the company’s most commonly prescribed insulin, and Humulin (insulin human) injection 100 units/mL will both have prices slashed by 70% by the end of the year, according to a Lilly press release.
The company says it also is expanding its Insulin Value Program, which caps patient out-of-pocket costs at $35 or less per month. Lilly says it is taking these actions to “help Americans who may have difficulty navigating a complex healthcare system that may keep them from getting affordable insulin.”
“While the current healthcare system provides access to insulin ,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 are announcing today should make a real difference for Americans with diabetes. Because these price cuts will take time for the insurance and pharmacy system to implement, we are taking the additional step to immediately cap out-of-pocket costs for patients who use Lilly insulin and are not covered by the recent Medicare Part D cap.”
Some other measures will have a direct impact on pharmacists. Effective immediately, Lilly will automatically cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 at participating retail pharmacies for people with commercial insurance using Lilly insulin. In addition, the uninsured will be able to go to InsulinAffordability.com and download the Lilly Insulin Value Program savings card to receive Lilly insulins for $35 per month.
“We are driving for change in repricing older insulins, but we know that 7 out of 10 Americans do not use Lilly insulin. We are calling on policymakers, employers and others to join us in making insulin more affordable,” Mr. Ricks said.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a sponsor of the Lowering Medicare Premiums and Prescription Drug Costs Act, responded to Lilly’s actions, noting that in August 2022, Democrats in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which capped insulin copays at $35 a month for diabetes patients covered by Medicare. Republicans blocked efforts to expand the cap to the private market.
“The Inflation Reduction Act is not the end of the conversation, but the beginning,” Sen. Casey said.
Starting January 1, 2023, the act requires drug manufacturers pay rebates to Medicare if they increase their prices for certain drugs at a rate that exceeds the rate of inflation.
The IRA also calls for coverage through Medicare Part D of vaccines such as Shingrix and Tdap, at no cost.
