Insulin List Price Data Sources

Insulin List Price Data Sources

Updated 7/10/2018, as Novo Nordisk has increased the price of Novolog to $289.36

The following links on this list are various, public sources to substantiate the list prices of rapid, analogue insulin from 1996 to now. This is a working document.

List Prices

*denotes current price

Sources

[1] Washington Post: Why treating diabetes keeps getting more expensive

• “launched two decades ago with a sticker price of $21” - refers to Humalog, which launched in June 1996. Novolog was not introduced until June 2000.

• “has been increased to $255” - refers to price at July 2016, as shown in their “the list price of Humalog insulin keeps going up” chart.

• “list price for Humalog has increased about 150 percent since 2009”

• While the price for Humalog at 2009 is not given, using the percentage increase, can back into what the price was. $255/2.5 = $102.

[2] Business Insider: The prices for life-saving diabetes medications have increased again

• includes “Rising Insulin Prices” chart showing the prices of Humalog and Novolog from July 1996 to July 2016.

• “As of May 2, the list price of Humalog, a short-acting insulin, is $274.70 for a 10 ml bottle.”

• “Novo Nordisk, which also makes a short-acting insulin, increased its prices to the drug in 2017. In February, the drugmaker raised its price to $275.58 for a 10 ml bottle, up 7.9% from what the list price had been since July 2016.”

• While the price for Novolog at July 2016 is not given, using the percentage increase, can back into what the price was.

[3] Washington Post: Bernie Sanders wants the feds to investigate these drug companies for possible price collusion

• “In August of 2001, a vial of the insulin NovoLog carried a list price of $39.75 — matching the price of a competing insulin, Humalog, down to the penny.”

• “On Jan. 16, 2002, both drug prices rose to $41.74.”

• “On July 18, both prices rose to $45.08.”

• “On Dec. 19, both drugs rose to $49.14.”

• “Fast forward to November 2015. NovoLog increased to $236.70. Within two weeks, Humalog was hiked to $237.”

[4] Irl B. Hirsch: Insulin in America: A Right or a Privilege?

• “In 2004, I was asked to write a review of insulin analogs, which was published in early 2005 (4). Just before publication, one of the reviewers asked me to publish the costs of the insulin products. In those days, we used the Web site drugstore.com to compare prices, and, in general, vials of insulin analogs cost ∼$60 each.”

• “In 2012, I was asked to participate in a debate on insulin pricing, taking the “pro” side that insulin analogs were worthy of their costs. At the time, vials of insulin lispro and insulin glargine were $138 and $125, respectively”

• Worth mentioning that by using drugstore.com to substantiate these prices, these prices may include some retail markup.

[5] Bloomberg: Drugmakers Cancel Price Hikes After California Law Takes Effect

• In early July, Novo Nordisk raised the price of its Victoza diabetes injection by 7.9 percent, and its diabetes drugs Levemir and Novolog by 5 percent, according to data compiled by First Databank and Bloomberg Intelligence. The new price is $293.75 for a 10 milliliter vial of Levemir and $289.36 for a 10 milliliter vial of Novolog. Patients can use more than one vial per month.