Eli Lilly is scaling back its legacy insulin footprint in Europe, with plans to discontinue a swath of products for “commercial reasons.”
The company is removing several of its insulin presentations, including short- and rapid-acting, mixed-acting and long-acting iterations of its products containing human insulin, insulin lispro and insulin glargine across selected European countries, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) announced on Monday.
The discontinuations are all expected to play out before the second quarter of 2027, but the specific products and withdrawal timelines differ across European countries.
The retreat, which includes versions of Humalog and Abasaglar, comes as Lilly increasingly leans on its high-growth GLP-1 portfolio.
EMA listed the update as a supply shortage, but notes that Lilly has “decided to stop marketing some of its insulin medicines for commercial reasons” and not due to a safety or quality issue.
Specifically, Lilly is removing its Humalog Mix25 (a mix of 25% insulin lispro and 75% insulin lispro protamine) across all of the European countries in which it's currently marketed in.
Several other insulin products in multiple administration will be discontinued, a related medical shortage communication (PDF) laid out. Those products include short-and rapid-acting Lyumjev in different dose strengths, Humulin S (human insulin), Humalog, Liprolog, intermediate-acting Humulin I, mixed-acting Humalog Mix50 and Humulin M3, plus long-acting Abasaglar (known as Basaglar in the U.S.).
The decision came after “careful consideration and a thorough market assessment,” the company said in the shortage communication, which was sent out to healthcare professionals across European member states. The discontinuations are “not a consequence of any safety, efficacy or quality related issue,” Lilly stressed. The drugmaker further emphasized that patients must be switched to an alternative insulin treatment before the discontinuation take effect in order to avoid missing doses and may need to adjust doses based on potential differences with an alternative product.
Discontinuation of Lilly’s Humalog already hit the U.K. last year, with a notice that stock of certain products would be depleted by April and May of 2026.
Humalog reached the U.S. market in 1996 as the world’s first rapid-acting insulin analog. Since then, the company’s “Humalog family” has grown to include multiple different treatment options.
More recently, as Lilly’s diabetes drug portfolio has been dominated by newer blockbusters such as its GLP-1 Mounjaro and Boehringer Ingelheim-partnered Jardiance, the company did not report specific Humalog sales in 2025. In 2024, Humalog saw a 40% year-over-year revenue decline to $2.3 million.
The drug has been the subject of pricing controversy, with a years-long lawsuit slamming Lilly and fellow insulin makers Sanofi and Novo Nordisk for an “insidious” pricing war that caused steep price hikes. Lilly moved to resolve the nationwide class action with a $13.5 million settlement, but the deal was called off in 2024.
The company ultimately slashed its insulin prices by 70% in 2023 and continues the push to bring down its insulin prices with a recently effective 70% price cut for other versions of its insulins. Still, Lilly hasn’t yet escaped the pricing concerns, with the state of Indiana filing a January lawsuit accusing the company of artificially inflating insulin prices.