Americans, irrespective of their insurance status, can now obtain Sanofi’s widely prescribed insulin for $35 through the prescription drug savings platform GoodRx, as announced by the companies. Patients with a valid prescription can access a $35 coupon for Sanofi’s Lantus on GoodRx’s site and use it at over 70,000 retail pharmacies across the U.S., including CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart.
This initiative aims to broaden access to the $35 price for Lantus across the United States, following the joint announcement by Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk earlier this year to reduce insulin prices and establish out-of-pocket cost caps. Despite Sanofi’s commitment in March to lower list prices for Lantus and cap out-of-pocket costs at $35 a month for insured individuals, the change is set to take effect in January.
While Sanofi already has a patient assistance program to limit insulin prices to $35 for uninsured diabetes patients, some individuals have faced challenges accessing this price point due to low awareness of copay cards and patient savings programs. Concerns have been raised about the complexity of these programs, which, although backed by manufacturers, often require significant effort for patients to benefit.
President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act has capped monthly insulin costs at $35 for Medicare beneficiaries, but it does not extend this protection to diabetes patients with private insurance. In the U.S., around 37 million people, or 11.3% of the population, have diabetes, with approximately 8.4 million relying on insulin, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Diabetes Association, respectively.
