China is starting an audit of 77 major pharmaceutical companies, including the Chinese arms of Sanofi, Eli Lilly & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
NEW YORK: Three of the biggest makers of diabetes treatments, Sanofi SA, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly & Co, were named in a proposed class action lawsuit by a group of patients alleging price-fixing.
The lawsuit, filed on Monday in a federal court in Massachusetts, said the companies simultaneously hiked the price of insulin by over 150 percent during the past five years.
The twelve named plaintiffs, residents of Georgia, Florida, California and Massachusetts who have diabetes, claim Sanofi, Novo Nordisk and Lilly raised their public benchmark price for insulin products while maintaining a lower "true" price they charged large pharmacy benefit managers like Express Scripts, CVS Health and OptumRX.
The PBMs act as intermediaries with health insurers and keep a percentage of the price difference, according to the lawsuit.
Ashleigh Koss, a spokeswoman for Sanofi said: "We strongly believe these allegations have no merit, and will defend against these claims."
Eli Lilly spokesman Greg Kueterman declined to comment on the lawsuit but said the company complied with all applicable laws and adhered to the highest ethical standards.
Ken Inchausti, a spokesman for Novo Nordisk, said the company disagreed with the complaint's characterization of the pharmaceutical supply chain and noted its commitment to patients' access to medicine.
The plaintiffs claim the alleged price-fixing scheme caused them to overpay for insulin. According to the lawsuit, some skipped meals or underdosed their insulin because they could not afford treatment otherwise. Others intentionally experienced severe diabetic complications to obtain insulin samples from emergency rooms, the complaint said.
Uninsured patients and those on high-deductible plans are particularly affected by rising insulin prices, plaintiffs said.
The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, alleged violations of the federal racketeering statute, which allows for triple damages, as well as consumer protection laws in virtually every state.
In November, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland asked federal antitrust regulators to investigate possible insulin price collusion by Sanofi, Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Merck & Co Inc. No probe has been announced.
Lilly said in December it would provide some patients with up to 40 percent discounts on insulin products via its partnership with Express Scripts Holding Co.
Shares in the three companies fell, Lilly down 1 percent at $74.60, while U.S. listed shares of Novo Nordisk were off 0.4 percent at $35.62 and Sanofi recovered a bit to trade up 0.4 percent at $40.02. - Reuters
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