Philly DA sues nearly 20 pharmaceutical companies over insulin prices

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit against nearly 20 pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) over, what his office called, the "artificially high" cost of insulin.

In a statement, a representative of Krasner's office said that the suit alleges that the companies targeted in the action are in violation of the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

"The lawsuit contends that PBM defendants work in concert with the manufacturers to dictate the availability and price of insulin drugs for most of the U.S. market. The PBM defendants are, at once, a) the three largest PBMs in the United States; b) the largest pharmacies in the United States; and c) housed within the same corporate enterprises as three of the largest insurance companies in the United States — Aetna (CVS Health), Cigna (Express Scripts), and UnitedHealthcare (OptumRx)," a DA's Office spokesperson wrote.

Krasner is also diabetic and relies on insulin for "his health and well-being," according to the DA's Office.

However, the office also said that the lawsuit "is not about him, however; it is about the untold scores of Americans with diabetes who struggle to pay for a life-saving medicine that should frankly be available on demand."

Also, according to a statement from Krasner's office, more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians -- or 11% of the adult population — have diabetes.

A 2018 survey reflected that, in the City of Philadelphia, 14% of adults are living with diabetes, the DA's office noted.

A 2022 study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that more than 1.3 million Americans with diabetes did not take their full described daily doses of insulin due to the cost, according to the DA's office.

"Despite recent consumer relief actions following an expansive 2021 Senate Finance Committee probe of collusion among the pharmaceutical companies and PBMs, as well as executive actions by the Biden Administration capping the cost of insulin for Medicare, a lack of tougher federal regulations and inconsistent policies among the states have effectively let the companies off the hook for their actions," a DA's Office spokesperson wrote.

This lawsuit is aimed at Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi, which the DA's office claimed, manufacture nearly all insulins and other diabetes medications available in the United States.

It also targets CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx as the pharmacy benefit managers that "work in concert with the manufacturers to dictate the availability and price of the at-issue drugs for most of the U.S. market," according to Krasner's office.