ST. PAUL, Minn. – Attorney General Keith Ellison has succeeded with a second settlement with a Big Pharma drug manufacturer to cap the life-saving diabetes medicine insulin at $35 a month. The cap is in the settlement of Minnesota’s 2018 lawsuit against Sanofi-Aventis. The company had been charging $625 for a typical one-month supply. The settlement mirrors an earlier Minnesota settlement with Ely Lilly, another pharmaceutical manufacturer. The deals bring prices in Minnesota in line with the Biden success with $35 insulin for seniors nationwide. Ellison said that Sanofi-Aventis also has agreed to continue free isulin for low-income Minnesotans.
Verbatim
Ellison: “With this settlement, Minnesotans can get the insulin they need at prices they can afford, and they can now choose between manufacturers and low-cost insulin products. I will continue to do everything in my power to lower the cost of prescription drugs. Nobody in Minnesota should be denied medicine they need to survive because of its price.”
Diabetes profile
About 9% of Minnesota adults, 388,700 in all, suffer diabetes. Every year an estimated 26,200 new cases are diagnosed. The disease interferes with the metabolism of sugars. Complications are fatal. Insulin was discovered in 1951 to reduce blood sugars