JAMA letter in reply to Eli Lilly: Cost of Antihyperglycemic Medications in the US

Health Economics Unit members Xinyang Hua, Professor Philip Clarke and Professor William H. Herman from the University of Michigan recently published a letter on JAMA in reply to some issues raised by Eli Lilly, the American global pharmaceutical company. This letter relates to our JAMA publication Expenditures and prices of antihyperglycemic medications in the US. In our reply we focus on the rebates offered by pharmaceutical companies to some customers and how these may impact on the price of insulin over time.

Our letter concludes by noting that:

It is important to ensure that everyone who needs insulin can access it affordably. We would contend that a key part of the solution will be to make the price of insulin more transparent. In this regard, manufacturers of insulin could commit to fully disclose all rebates, or better still, stop providing rebates and reduce the retail price of insulin for all.

Full text of the letter can be accessed online