Comparing U.S. Insulin Costs to the Rest of the World
The cost of insulin in the U.S. is almost 7 times more expensive than the next country. Even when rebates are taken into account, the U.S. insulin price is roughly 4 times higher compared to other high-income countries.
"Prices in the U.S. are always much higher than other nations, even if you assume steep discounts to manufacturer prices in the United States."
Andrew Mulcahy, Senior Policy Researcher at RAND
Insulin makers and their allies argue that while the list price of insulin is high in the U.S., most of that money is going to other parties in the drug supply chain.
But when you look at the revenue that they’re receiving from insulin sales, a different story emerges. The U.S. accounts for 31.6% of insulin consumption and 83.8% of sales.
Eli Lilly Insulin Sales in the US vs International
Eli Lilly makes more money from Humalog insulin in the U.S. market than from the rest of the world combined.
Novo Nordisk & Sanofi Insulin Sales in the US vs International
Even for the other top insulin manufacturers, Novo Nordisk makes 25% of their insulin sales in the U.S. and Sanofi makes 31%, despite the U.S. only having 6% of total diabetics worldwide.
