Delaware sues pharma companies over raising insulin prices
(CN) — Delaware accuses manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies of working together to drive up drug prices for Delaware diabetics and to foreclose access to lower priced diabetic treatments in order to increase their profits.
“The level of greed that would drive someone to price-gouge consumers over life-saving diabetes medicine is almost unfathomable,” Delaware Attorney General Kathleen Jennings said in a statement announcing the suit. “It is an avarice that not only hurts diabetics across the country financially, but in many cases leads to medication hoarding and preventable deaths. The thousands of Delawareans living with diabetes need to know that we will hold these companies accountable.”
The state says in its complaint filed in the court of Chancery that the price for diabetes medications has skyrocketed over time, despite no changes in how the drugs are produced.
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Defendants include Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, which manufacture the vast majority of insulins and other diabetic medications available in Delaware, generating billions in revenue each year. These manufactures “artificially and willingly raise their list prices” and then pay a significant, yet undisclosed, portion of that price back to the pharmacies, according to Jennings.
Dispensing pharmacies, like defendants CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx, make up the largest pharmacy benefits managers in the U.S. and Delaware, controlling approximately 80% of the pharmaceutical market.
https://www.courthousenews.com/delaware-sues-pharma-companies-over-raising-insulin-prices/