# Sanofi and Novo Nordisk press ahead with US insulin prices rises



## PhoebeC (Jan 11, 2019)

https://www.ft.com/content/b102475a-1460-11e9-a581-4ff78404524e


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## Robin (Jan 11, 2019)

PhoebeC said:


> https://www.ft.com/content/b102475a-1460-11e9-a581-4ff78404524e


I’m afraid that link asks me to subscribe to the FT for a fee before I can read it.


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## PhoebeC (Jan 11, 2019)

Hmm, I dont know to stop it doing that. sorry!


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## mikeyB (Jan 11, 2019)

Me too. Ferocious paywall. Most papers let you have a free article limit, but not, it appears, the FT.


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## trophywench (Jan 11, 2019)

What did it say in terms of how much $$$ ?


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## Northerner (Jan 11, 2019)

trophywench said:


> What did it say in terms of how much $$$ ?


From a quick look around, it's now about $300 a vial


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## Sally71 (Jan 11, 2019)

That will probably be for us too after Brexit


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## mikeyB (Jan 11, 2019)

What I want to know is the pay rate of the bacteria who produce it. Their wages must be sky high.

One Trumps bugbears is profiteering drug companies, but he’s too busy worrying about his wall. He can only think about one thing at once.

I’m dont think Brexit will have any effect on the price the NHS pays, but the decades of austerity we face may mean we will only be allowed generic insulin.


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## trophywench (Jan 11, 2019)

@Northerner   I thought it was already about $300 ?

@mikeyB    Your last comment is what REALLY worries me too.


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## Northerner (Jan 11, 2019)

Around 5% each 

https://www.beckershospitalreview.c...e-ahead-with-insulin-price-hikes-4-notes.html


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## trophywench (Jan 11, 2019)

Is it a cartel ?


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## mikeyB (Jan 12, 2019)

Of course it’s a cartel. Insulin is a cash cow, it’s no more technical than brewing to make it. All the research for creating the bacteria or yeasts has been paid for long since. The companies are just sticking the prices up before they go out of patent.


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## Abi (Jan 12, 2019)

Trump was threatening to make the UK pay more for pharmaceuticals,claiming that our "freeloading " socialist system is responsible for the prohibitive costs in the US.


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## trophywench (Jan 12, 2019)

Why - does he own Novo Nordisk, Eli Lilly, Sanofi etc then?  When did he become responsible for negotiating what any other country pays drug companies?

I mean were he normal you'd expect him to negotiate having got every single medical insurer in the States to sing from the same hymnsheet as him - but he's not known for his tact and diplomacy so that won't happen.

He really has missed his vocation, hasn't he?  - ruling the world, I mean.


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## Abi (Jan 14, 2019)

I find it hard to see exactly how he would increase cost of our pharmaceuticals, but possibly in a  very roundabout way via a trade deal. LIly is an American company
He is a total and complete nutter and I wonder how long he will last


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## novonord (Jan 14, 2019)

there again Novo has to keep a lot of insulin in stock, say 9 months' supply for security reasons, is located in a safe Nordic country which is unlikely to attract terrorist activity, shipping insulin around the world is no easy task, it can't be frozen in the hold, Novo has an access programme for poor countries, its highest selling novorapid in the US is going off-patent, it is partly owned by a charitable foundation that does much basic and drug development research and the cost of bringing to market new drugs is in excess of $1.5bn and probably even higher for stem cell derived treatments, and Novo spent a lot of time and money on oral insulin only to abandon the project for now, and the USA is clamping down on price increases from where more than half of Novo's profits come.


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