Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched a legal battle against several prominent insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), alleging a coordinated scheme to inflate insulin prices. The lawsuit targets pharmaceutical giants like Eli Lilly And Co and PBMs including Cigna Corp’s Express Scripts and CVS Health Inc’s CVS Pharmacy, accusing them of engaging in an illegal conspiracy to drive up prices.
The lawsuit paints a picture of a system where insulin manufacturers deliberately inflated the prices of their drugs while simultaneously paying PBMs substantial, undisclosed sums for preferential treatment in PBM offerings. According to the lawsuit, PBMs allegedly favored manufacturers with the highest list prices, giving their products preferential status while excluding more affordable alternatives.
This alleged manipulation has had a devastating impact on patients. Insulin drugs, which cost manufacturers less than $2 to produce, were initially priced at $20 per vial in the late 1990s. However, prices have skyrocketed to between $300 and $700 per vial in recent years. Some manufacturers have even raised prices by as much as 1,000% over the past decade.
Attorney General Paxton expressed outrage over the alleged scheme, stating, “This is a disturbing conspiracy by which pharmaceutical companies were intentionally and artificially inflating the price of insulin. Big Pharma insulin manufacturers and PBMs worked together to take advantage of diabetes patients and drive prices as high as they could.” He vowed to hold these companies accountable for their actions.
The complaint further argues that while PBMs have publicly presented themselves as entities dedicated to reducing drug prices and improving treatment access, their actions tell a different story. The lawsuit claims that PBMs have colluded with insulin manufacturers to manipulate the market for their own financial gain, ultimately harming Texas diabetics and healthcare providers.
This lawsuit is the latest development in a growing movement to address the affordability crisis facing diabetes patients. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also filed a lawsuit against CVS Health, Cigna, and UnitedHealth’s pharmacy benefit managers, alleging that they have manipulated insulin prices to benefit their own bottom line.
The outcome of these lawsuits remains to be seen, but they highlight the complex challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry and the urgent need to address the affordability of essential medications like insulin.
