Klobuchar Presses Three Pharmaceutical Companies for Action on High Insulin Prices; Urges Vigilance Against Anticompetitive Conduct

Press Release

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) today pressed three pharmaceutical companies on the high prices of insulin medication. According to recent reports, the price of insulin has more than tripled in the last decade--likely due in part to limited competition. In the United States, three companies have raised the list prices of insulin in near lock step, without providing evidence of increased production costs. In letters to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Sanofi, and Novo Nordisk, Klobuchar called for action to help people with diabetes afford insulin and asked for an explanation of the extreme price increases.

"The simultaneous price increases raise questions about potential coordination. Even absent coordination, raising list price appears to be a way to avoid competition by shifting the cost of insulin to patients--particularly those with Medicare Part D coverage or a high-deductible plan--resulting in price increases well over 100 percent," Senator Klobuchar wrote.

The senator continued, "The rising cost of prescription drugs in this country is unacceptable, and we must be vigilant when it comes to potentially anticompetitive conduct that can further increase these costs. I urge you to take immediate steps to alleviate the burden your price increases have put on people with diabetes and to ensure your companies' behavior fully complies with our antitrust laws. In addition, I ask that you provide a written explanation for your continued insulin price increases and any documents examining the impact of list price increases on people with diabetes."

Klobuchar has championed efforts to protect consumers and lower costs by promoting competition in the healthcare system, including authoring multiple pieces of legislation that would address the high cost of prescription drugs. The bipartisan Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act Klobuchar introduced with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) would crack down on anti-competitive pay-offs in which branded companies pay their generic competitors not to compete as part of a patent settlement. She also introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, which would allow for Medicare to negotiate the best possible price of prescription drugs. In addition, Klobuchar introduced the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) that would require the Food and Drug Administration to establish a personal importation program that would allow individuals to import a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from an approved Canadian pharmacy.

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