Amid a national outcry over the cost of insulin, one of the largest generic companies launched a biosimilar version at a wholesale price it claimed is 65% less than comparable treatments, although experts say the move is more likely to benefit payers than many patients.
Mylan (MYL) is marketing a long-acting version of the best-selling Lantus insulin — which the company named Semglee — for adults with Type 2 diabetes, and adults and children with Type 1 diabetes. But Mylan maintained the price for a package of 5 pens is equivalent to what Lantus sold for in 2007, and that a 10 ml vial is listed at the same price for which Lantus was sold a decade ago.
In a statement, Mylan chief executive officer Heather Bresch called this “the most competitive list price on the market,” and “an important step toward ensuring that those who need insulin are able to access and afford it.” Lantus is sold by Sanofi (SNY) which, along with Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO), is one of the three big brand-name insulin makers that dominate the diabetes market.
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You gotta be kidding ($98 per vial prohibitively expensive)! Do you know how much a single injection of Repatha cost?