Minnesota’s attorney general filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, Oct. 16, accusing drug manufacturers Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly of deceptive price increases for insulin.
“Insulin is a life-or-death drug for people with diabetes,” Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said in a statement. “Many people can’t afford the price hikes but can’t afford to stop taking the medication either.”
The pharmaceutical companies named in the lawsuit are the U.S.’s three major makers of insulin. According to The Hill, spokespeople from Sanofi and Eli Lilly both said the claims were “without merit” and pledged to defend against them. Novo Nordisk said it’s looking into the allegations.
"We take this matter seriously, and are currently examining the allegations made in the complaint," a Novo Nordisk spokesman told The Hill. "As a company committed to ethics and compliance in how we support patients, we ensure that our business practices are consistent with legal and regulatory requirements."
Swanson noted Sanofi’s insulin product, Lantus, has risen in price from $99.35 in 2010 to $269.54 in 2018. She said drug companies raise the sticker prices of their products so they can negotiate greater discounts to pharmacy benefit managers, but that hurts consumers who have high deductibles or no insurance at all.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction preventing the companies from disseminating misleading list prices, as well as damages for Minnesota residents who paid out-of-pocket for insulin.
Read more from The Hill below:
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.