Eli Lilly is planning to release a generic version of its Humalog insulin pen that’s half the price of the original, the pharmaceutical company said earlier this month.
Insulin Lispro’s list price will be $137.35 per vial and $265.20 for a set of five pens.
Between 2009 and 2017 the wholesale price of a single vial of Humalog close to tripled, up to $274.70, Kaiser Health News reported. When it entered the market in 1996, the cost was around $21 a vial.
Humalog is a rapid-acting insulin, and Lilly’s announcement is expected to put pressure on other pharma companies to make similar moves. Lilly’s announcement comes after the Senate Finance Committee pressured companies to explain how taxpayers were paying $1 billion a year through Medicare and Medicaid for the medication.
