Eli Lilly & Co. LLY said Wednesday that is capping out-of-pocket insulin costs to $35 for people with commercial health insurance at certain retail pharmacies and it is also lowering the prices of most its insulins, such as pricing non-branded Insulin Lispro at $25 a vial. The company also plans to cut the list price of Humalog and Humulin in the fourth quarter, though it did not say by how much. Further, Lilly said in April it plans to launch a biosimilar to Lantus, which will cost $92 for a five pack of pens. “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,” Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a news release. The cost of insulin has become a political issue, with President Joe Biden recently calling for $35 cap on insulin for all Americans with diabetes. Lilly’s stock is down 14.9% so far this year, while the broader S&P 500 is up 3.7%.
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