Eli Lilly announces cheaper, generic version of insulin

Eli Lilly announced on Monday it will introduce a lower-priced, generic version of its insulin.

In a statement, the company said the generic version will be called Insulin Lispro and will have a list price 50% cheaper than Humalog, the company’s most commonly used insulin.

"While this change is a step in the right direction, all of us in the health care community must do more to fix the problem of high out-of-pocket costs for Americans living with chronic conditions," said Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks. "We hope our announcement is a catalyst for positive change across the U.S. health care system."

The move comes as insulin manufacturers are under intense scrutiny for the soaring cost of insulin, a drug which has been available for decades.

Less than two weeks ago, the Senate Finance Committee opened a bipartisan investigation into the price of insulin.

On Feb. 22, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) wrote letters to the CEOs of Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, asking for more information about their insulin prices. The price of Eli Lilly’s Humalog increased 585% between 2001 and 2015, according to the senators.

Grassley responded to Eli Lilly’s decision on Twitter calling it “good news,” but “only 1 piece of puzzle.” Grassley said he still expects thorough responses from the companies.

“Regardless of the headlines and PR acrobatics, the Finance Committee is continuing to investigate how major insulin manufacturers set and increase the outrageous price of insulin, in addition to other business decisions related to the price of insulin. The company’s decision to offer a generic version of a several decade old drug will be part of the investigation,” said Wyden in a statement to Yahoo Finance.

Seven pharmaceutical executives testified before the Senate Finance Committee last week. Eli Lilly was not invited to testify.

In an interview last week, Yahoo Finance asked Grassley if he planned to call on the insulin manufacturers to testify before the committee. He said he would not make that decision until he saw the companies responded to his letters.

“I would hope that we're going to embarrass [the insulin manufacturers] to some extent like we embarrassed Mylan on Epi-Pen, if you remember. To maybe be a little more common sense in their approach of prices,” said Grassley.

Eli Lilly said it will work to make the generic drug available in pharmacies as quickly as possible.

Jessica Smith is a reporter for Yahoo Finance based in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @JessicaASmith8.

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