After reaching a settlement with Minnesota’s attorney general, Eli Lilly can close the book on a yearslong lawsuit in the state.
In its settlement, Eli Lilly agreed to provide free and lower-priced insulin products in the state for the next five years.
Minnesota’s former attorney general originally sued the company, along with Lilly's fellow insulin makers Novo Nordisk and Sanofi, in 2018. The complaint accused the three companies of jacking up prices so high that they were not an “accurate approximation of the true cost of insulin.”
Now, Lilly agreed to provide its insulin products at $35 per month to Minnesota residents with or without insurance for the next five years. The settlement also requires the company to donate enough free insulin for 15 clinics that serve “the neediest Minnesotans” over the same period, which begins “immediately," according to a release from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
“This landmark settlement ensures that insulin will be affordable and accessible to every Minnesotan who needs it,” Ellison said in a statement, adding that the state “has been at the forefront of holding insulin manufacturers accountable in this litigation for more than five years.”
The litigation against Sanofi and Novo remains ongoing, according to the attorney general’s statement.
As for Lilly, “the agreement builds on our longstanding and industry leading efforts to close gaps in the U.S. healthcare system and expand access to affordable insulin,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The Minnesota lawsuit is one of several levied at the three major diabetes drug makers over the last few years.
Last summer, Lilly agreed to pay $13.5 million and cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month to quell claims from several states after a 2017 class-action lawsuit. Nine states initially pushed back on the offer, arguing that the company was trying to use the deal as a “brazen attempt” to stave off future lawsuits.
Outside of the litigation, Lilly last year unveiled an insulin price-cutting campaign that slashed prices of its most commonly prescribed insulins by 70%. The company also committed to capping out-of-pocket costs for insulin at $35 at participating pharmacies for patients with commercial insurance. Sanofi and Novo followed with similar moves.