Eli Lilly, consumers terminate proposed insulin price settlement

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Update: 

• A class action settlement Eli Lilly and a class of insulin buyers previously agreed to has been called off.
• The decision comes after a New Jersey federal judge declined to certify a dozen classes of buyers who bought insulin made by Eli Lilly’s co-defendants Novo Nordisk and Sanofi Aventis. 
• The insulin buyers claimed Eli Lilly conspired with Novo Nordisk and Sanofi Aventis to inflate the price of insulin for uninsured and underinsured patients. 
• The settlement agreement came after six years of litigation and would have established a $13.5 million common fund and imposed an insulin price cap. 
• Eli Lilly now has six months to respond to the insulin buyers’ latest amended complaint. 

Eli Lilly insulin price cap overview:

• Who: Eli Lilly reportedly settled a class action lawsuit alleging it conspired to inflate the price of insulin.
• Why: Eli Lilly denies the allegations but agreed to settle the lawsuit after six years of litigation.
• Where: The Eli Lilly insulin class action lawsuit was filed in New Jersey federal court.

(May 31, 2023)

On May 26, insulin buyers asked a New Jersey federal judge to approve a proposed class action settlement that would resolve allegations that Eli Lilly & Co. inflated the price of the medication. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the drugmaker would pay $13.5 million and impose an insulin price cap.

Insulin settlement provides cash payments to buyers

Insulin buyers reached the proposed class action settlement with the drugmaker after six years of litigation. It will allow eligible patients to purchase the company’s insulin medications sold under the Humalog, Humulin and Basaglar names for no more than $35 out of pocket each month, according to the settlement motion.

The insulin price cap would be guaranteed for at least four years, the motion for preliminary approval states.

Individuals who purchased insulin products covered by the settlement would reportedly be entitled to cash payments from the $13.5 million class action settlement fund if the deal is approved.

“The settlement provides no reversion to Lilly and completely freezes the out-of-pocket insulin expenses for covered insulin products for the settlement class members for four years, a very substantial concession in an era where drug prices are skyrocketing and inflation generally is a significant concern,” the plaintiffs say in their motion.

The proposed settlement class is defined as anyone who paid any portion of the purchase price for any Eli Lilly insulin product since 2009 at a price calculated by reference to a list price, average wholesale price and/or wholesale acquisition cost or price for any purpose other than resale.

If approved, the settlement would resolve a class action lawsuit filed in 2017 alleging pharmaceutical companies Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi Aventis conspired to inflate the prices of insulin for uninsured and underinsured patients.

Eli Lilly announced it would set $35 insulin price cap, lower price of common insulin meds

The insulin market has experienced significant changes in recent months. In March, Eli Lilly said it would implement a $35 insulin price cap and drop the price of its most commonly prescribed insulin medications by 70%.

Novo Nordisk and Sanofi dropped their insulin prices just days later, the plaintiffs said.

In 2021, a group of clinics that serve low-income patients also hit Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and AstraZeneca with an insulin antitrust class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege that the pharmaceutical companies conspired to increase the price of insulin and refused to offer the medication at a discount allegedly in violation of federal public health law. 

What do you think about the proposed settlement? Join the discussion in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein Brody & Agnello PC; Hagens Berman Shapiro LLP; Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP; Weitz & Luxembourg; Keller Rohrback LLP; Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP; Criden & Love PA; and Loevy & Loevy.

The Eli Lilly insulin class action lawsuit is In re: Insulin Pricing Litigation, Case No. 2:17-cv-00699, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

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