Insulin is getting the “everyday low price” treatment as Walmart is set to debut a generic version of the diabetes drug that it says is up to 75% cheaper than the existing options.
The retail giant announced on Tuesday that their private-brand insulin will cost $72.88 per vial and $85.88 per FlexPen.
“This price point, we hope, will improve and hopefully revolutionize the accessibility and affordability of insulin,” said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, Walmart’s executive vice president of health and wellness, on a call with reporters. “We know that many people with diabetes struggle to manage this chronic condition because of its financial burden.”
Thirty-four million Americans – about 11% of the population – are diabetic. Tracey D. Brown, chief executive officer of the American Diabetes Association, said the disease costs patients an average of $9,601 a year.
While insulin has been around for a century, just three drugmakers control the market and prices have rapidly increased in the last decade.
Walmart already offers a low-price version of insulin, but it’s considered an outdated product. The new version has a more advanced formulation.
Bloomberg provides more context on Walmart’s push into pharmaceuticals:
Walmart’s insulin launch comes 15 years after it disrupted drugmakers and pharmacy chains by introducing a range of generic drugs for common ailments like allergies and high cholesterol, with the treatments costing just $4 per prescription. The retailer expanded the generic offering in 2008, claiming then that it had saved consumers more than $1 billion.
CNBC explains that Walmart has fresh competition from deep-pocketed rivals.
Yet the retail giant is treading in a complex industry that has tripped up other large, influential corporate players. Haven, a joint venture of Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase, disbanded early this year about three years after the companies heralded plans to disrupt health care with lower costs and improved outcomes.
