BY PETER
SULLIVAN - 10/16/18 02:47 PM EDT 33
The Minnesota attorney
general on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against three major pharmaceutical companies
for “deceptive and misleading” price increases for insulin to treat diabetes.
“Insulin is a
life-or-death drug for people with diabetes,” Minnesota Attorney General Lori
Swanson (D) said in a statement. “Many people can’t afford the price hikes but
can’t afford to stop taking the medication either.”
The lawsuit was filed
against the country's three major makers of insulin: Sanofi-Aventis, Novo
Nordisk and Eli Lilly and Co.
"We believe the
claims are without merit, and we will defend against them vigorously," an
Eli Lilly spokesman said. "We have no further comment at this time.”
Novo Nordisk, however,
said only that it is looking into the examinations.
"We take this
matter seriously, and are currently examining the allegations made in the
complaint," a Novo Nordisk spokesman said. "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."
Sanofi said it is
"aware of the lawsuit, believes it to be without merit and will vigorously
defend against it."
The lawsuit points to
price spikes for insulin, a common example advocates use to highlight problems
with high drug prices. It's an issue Democrats have made a major priority if
they take back the House in November and one President
Trump has called attention to also.
For example, Swanson
said that one insulin product, Lantus, made by Sanofi, rose from a price of
$99.35 in 2010 to $269.54 in 2018.
The lawsuit alleges
that there is a deceptive difference between the sticker price of these
insulins and the actual price that insurers pay after negotiators known as
pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) get discounts.
The attorney general
says drug companies are raising the sticker price ever higher so that they can
give larger discounts to the PBMs, which helps them secure more favorable
coverage of their products relative to their competitors in insurance plans.
The problem, Swanson
says, is that the spiking sticker prices hurt people who don’t have insurance
or who have high deductibles they have to pay before insurance kicks in.
“The lawsuit alleges
that the list prices the drug companies set are so far from their net prices
that they are not an accurate approximation of the true cost of insulin and are
deceptive and misleading,” the attorney general’s office says.
-- Updated 3:53 p.m.
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