Newsom announces plan for CalRX program to offer $ll insulin

Americans by five to 10 times what our European counterparts are currently paying.”

- 

Insulin users without health insurance can pay as much as $400 for five pens.

While major drug companies have recently cut prices on insulin, critics contend those cost savings are subsidized by other consumers.

Health-related groups, including the American Diabetes Assn., applauded the news.

“This is a huge deal,” said Chris Noble of Health Access California, a consumer advocacy group, and amember of the state’s advisory council for the insulin program.

Three major pharmaceutical companies — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — are known for manufacturing insulin, Noble said.

“Now they have to compete with something that’s actually being offered at the cost of manufacture, rather than these astronomical profits,” Noble said.

Reid Porter, spokesperson for Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a group representing pharmaceutical companies, said that insulin manufacturers have long offered programs to help consumers access and afford the drug.