The #insulin4all movement has had some major victories lately. For example, Medicare beneficiaries can access $35 copays for some insulins. The list price of insulin went down for nine insulins. Over half of the states in the USA have passed some form of insulin copay cap. These victories were hard fought by #insulin4all advocates over the past decade. But we’re not celebrating the much heralded $35 insulin cap for all. Because it’s not true.
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Only eight days of National Diabetes Awareness Month had passed this November when pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced it would be pulling Levemir, a long-acting insulin that millions of insulin-dependent diabetic patients depend on, from the U.S. market. Read more
To kick off Diabetes Awareness Month, the Global Diabetes compact held a two-day meeting where T1International and 35 other organisations in over 25 countries presented the goal of the Fight for Five campaign. We showed the depth and breadth of support for this campaign not only through stories of patients most impacted by lack of affordable and accessible insulin in their home countries, but also by the number of organisations that support a better world for people with diabetes. Read more
We are pleased to announce that the 2023 WHO EML, released yesterday, now includes disposable and reusable pens with cartridges for human insulin. You may remember that two years ago, T1International’s advocacy was instrumental in the WHO’s decision to add long-acting insulin analogues in vials and pens to its EML. This week’s decision paves the way for short-acting insulin analogues to be added to the WHO EML in 2025 in both vial and pen preparations. Read more
On March 1, Eli Lilly announced it would reduce the list prices of some of its insulins, including the generic Lispro, the same product as the name-brand Humalog. At a recent congressional hearing with the CEOs of insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers, David Ricks, Eli Lilly’s CEO, again celebrated that $25 insulin lispro was available to patients as of May 1. People with diabetes have worked tirelessly to reduce insulin costs for decades. So why aren’t we universally celebrating this announcement of lower prices? Because it is now the end of May, and I - and many others in my community - still haven’t been able to get the promised $25 insulin.
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Advocates recently gathered in Washington, DC to attend the Senate HELP Committee Hearing entitled: The Need to Make Insulin Affordable for All Americans. The hearing, led by Chairman Senator Bernie Sanders, is the culmination of a decade of advocacy efforts by the #insulin4all community who have demanded public accountability for the global insulin price crisis. Read more
Following years of advocacy on affordable insulin for T1International, today Eli Lilly announced that vials of generic insulin Lispro will be available to all US customers for $25 effective May 1, 2023. Some other Eli Lilly insulins will also be made more affordable by the end of the year. Current list prices for insulin can be over $300 per vial. Read more
Patents are intended to provide an exclusive right for a novel invention. By granting a protected property right to an inventor, patents are intended to spur innovation because the patent holder can make significant money for a limited time in exchange for publishing and disclosing the invention. However, the patent system has been exploited by Big Pharma to keep charging high prices on old insulins, or only changing their products in small ways. Read more
Research conducted by T1International finds that people living with diabetes are experiencing diabetes burnout at a very high rate, with a significant impact on their health and wellbeing. Read more
With many successes and key moments to reflect on, it is nearly impossible to recap all in a single post. Instead, you can hear favorite moments directly from the 14 members of the T1International team! Read more