In an expansion of its previous moves to cut insulin prices, Sanofi will cap the price of each of its insulin products at $35 per month in the U.S. regardless of a patient's insurance status.
The move, which goes into effect at the start of next year, comes two years after the company slashed the price of its most popular insulin, Lantus, to $35 monthly for those with commercial insurance.
Before that, in June of 2022, Sanofi reduced the price of an unbranded Lantus biologic from $99 per month to $35 for those in the U.S. without insurance.
Sanofi’s cost-cutting efforts have mirrored those of the world’s other two primary sellers of insulin—Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly—and come as advanced insulin products and insulin biosimilars are reaching the market.
In early 2023, each of the drugmakers cut their insulin prices in similar fashion, answering calls from then-President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to charge prices for insulin in the U.S. that were more in line with what the drugmakers charged in other countries.
Through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Biden had already secured a reduction in the price of insulin for seniors on Medicare to $35.
In 2021, the Rand Corporation pointed out that the average list price for insulin in Canada was $12, compared to $98.7 in the U.S. Due to its high price, many people in the U.S. that need the life-saving treatment had turned to rationing.
Also pressuring the price of insulin downward were the introduction in of biosimilars—Biocon and Viatris’ Semglee in 2021 and Lilly’s interchangeable Rezvoglar in 2022, both of which were knockoffs of Lantus.
Earlier this year, Sanofi won FDA approval for Merilog, the first biosimilar referencing Novo Nordisk’s rapid-acting insulin NovoLog, which is delivered by a subcutaneous shot five to 10 minutes before mealtime to help patients control glucose and limit blood sugar spikes.