Oklahoma Sues Big Pharma and Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over ‘Insulin Pricing Scheme’
Oklahoma’s attorney general has filed a lawsuit against major diabetic drug manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) for what he describes as an unfair and deceptive practices in insulin pricing.
Insulins, which today cost Manufacturer Defendants less than $2 to produce and which were originally priced at $20 when released in the late 1990s, now range between $300 and $700, Mr. Drummond argues in the lawsuit, adding that they have increased the prices of their insulins up to 1,000 percent in the last decade alone.
The lawsuit further argues that both the manufacturers of the drugs and the PBMs play vital roles in and profit immensely from the Insulin Pricing Scheme and the artificially inflated prices produced by it.
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The lawsuit names a total of 17 defendants:
CVS Health Corp., CVS Pharmacy Inc., Caremark Rx LLC, Caremark PCS Health LLC, Caremark LLC, Eli Lilly and Company, Evernorth Health Inc. (formerly Express Scripts Holding Co.), Express Scripts Inc., Express Scripts Administrators LLC, Esi Mail Pharmacy Service Inc., Express Scripts Pharmacy Inc., Medco Health Solutions Inc., Novo Nordisk Inc., Sanofi-Aventis U.S. LLC, Optum RX Inc., Optum Insight Inc., and United Health Group Inc.
