Eli Lilly Now Offering Half-Price Version Of Top-Selling Insulin Humalog
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - Eli Lilly is now offering a half-price version of its top-selling insulin Humalog as drugmakers face criticism about out of control prescription drug prices.
The company says it will introduce a version of the diabetes treatment called Insulin Lispro with a list price 50-percent lower than its current rate, about $275 per vial.
List prices are initial figures drugmakers attach to a product and are typically knocked down by rebates.
Lilly Chairman and CEO David Ricks said in a statement Monday that the company pays "significant" rebates off the list price, but those discounts do not directly benefit all patients.
The cost of insulin for Type 1 diabetics has almost doubled over a five-year period. The result has lead some diabetics to cut back on usage. More than one-quarter of people with diabetes who participated in a study last year said they had skimped on the drug because of its rising cost.
U.S. senators grilled the leaders of several major companies last week in a hearing about drug prices.
Humalog brought in $1.8 billion in U.S. sales last year for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)