INDIANAPOLIS - Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced plans to add two more cost-saving options to its suite of solutions for people who use Lilly insulin by introducing lower-priced versions of Humalog Mix75/25 KwikPen (insulin lispro protamine and insulin lispro injectable suspension 100 units/mL) and Humalog Junior KwikPen (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL).
Both insulins will have 50 percent lower list prices compared to the branded versions and will be available by mid-April.
Lilly's first lower-priced insulin, Insulin Lispro Injection (100 units/mL), was made available in May 2019 at a 50 percent lower list price than Humalog (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL). In November 2019, more than 67,000 people filled prescriptions for Insulin Lispro Injection, and approximately 10 percent of people using Humalog have transitioned to the lower-priced option. Insulin Lispro Injection is now distributed by all major U.S. wholesalers and can be ordered by any pharmacy. Lilly will begin negotiations immediately with wholesalers and payers to make these additional lower-priced insulins available.
'Lilly is committed to offering the broadest suite of solutions for people who need help affording their insulin, and our lower-priced insulins are important options,' said Mike Mason, president, Lilly Diabetes. 'But real change to our reimbursement system is needed. Insurance coverage should ensure no one with diabetes is forced to ration or skip doses for financial reasons.'
Combined, Humalog U-100, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Junior KwikPen make up more than 90 percent of prescriptions written for a Lilly mealtime insulin. With a lower-priced version of each available, the vast majority of people using a Humalog formulation will have an option that may reduce their out-of-pocket costs. Humalog Mix75/25 is one of Lilly's most prescribed insulins, with nearly 600,000 prescriptions filled in the last 12 months.
These insulins are identical molecules to the branded versions and may be substituted at the pharmacy counter. Because most insurance plans provide affordable copays for chronic medicines that are much lower than the list price, people should ask their pharmacist whether these options reduce their out-of-pocket cost.
'The cost of insulin at the pharmacy varies dramatically depending on a person's insurance coverage,' said Mason. 'These lower-priced insulins may reduce out-of-pocket costs, especially for people in the coverage gap of Medicare Part D, the uninsured or those with high-deductible insurance plans.'
The lower-priced version of Humalog Mix75/25 will be known as Insulin Lispro Protamine and Insulin Lispro Injectable Suspension Mix75/25 KwikPen (100 units/mL). The lower-priced version of Humalog Junior KwikPen will be known as Insulin Lispro Injection Junior KwikPen (100 units/mL). Both will have a list price of $265.20 for a package of five KwikPens.
More than 95 percent of people using Humalog pay less than $100 for their monthly prescription at retail pharmacies because of their insurance coverage or one of Lilly's affordability solutions. Anyone who uses a Lilly insulin can call the Lilly Diabetes Solution Center at (833) 808-1234 (9 am to 8 pm EST Monday through Friday) to see whether there is an option that reduces their out-of-pocket costs. Staffed by health care professionals, the Solution Center may provide significant savings on Lilly insulins in multiple ways, including out-of-pocket caps on what people with commercial plans pay at the pharmacy and information about how to access donated Lilly insulin at more than 150 free clinics across the country. In 2019, Lilly's solutions helped up to 20,000 people with diabetes each month reduce their out-of-pocket costs for insulin.
About Diabetes
Approximately 30 million Americans1 and an estimated 425 million adults worldwide have diabetes.2 Type 2 diabetes is the most common type internationally, accounting for an estimated 90 to 95 percent of all diabetes cases in the United States alone.1 Diabetes is a chronic disease that occurs when the body does not properly produce or use the hormone insulin.
About Lilly Diabetes
Lilly has been a global leader in diabetes care since 1923, when we introduced the world's first commercial insulin. Today we are building upon this heritage by working to meet the diverse needs of people with diabetes and those who care for them. Through research, collaboration and quality manufacturing we strive to make life better for people affected by diabetes. We offer a wide range of therapies and a continued determination to provide real solutions-from medicines and technologies to support programs and more.
About Eli Lilly and Company
Lilly is a global health care leader that unites caring with discovery to create medicines that make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism.
This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about Humalog Mix75/25 (insulin lispro protamine and insulin lispro injectable suspension 100 units/mL) or Humalog Junior KwikPen (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL) as a treatment for patients with diabetes and reflects Lilly's current belief. However, as with any pharmaceutical product, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of development and commercialization. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that Humalog Mix75/25 (insulin lispro protamine and insulin lispro injectable suspension 100 units/mL) or Humalog Junior KwikPen (insulin lispro injection 100 units/mL) will be commercially successful.
Contact:
Kevin Hern
Tel: 317.277.1838
Email: hernkevinr@lilly.com
ELI LILLY AND COMPANY 
