T1International Federal Working Group Priorities
1) Win a federal price cap on insulin: Three companies, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi, dominate more than 90% of the insulin market. This means that while production of insulin costs around $6 to manufacture, these three companies are charging around $300 for a single vial of insulin (most people need 2-4 vials per month). When a person is dependent on a drug to live, Big Pharma can increase their prices to whatever the market will bear. Capping the price of insulin at the pharmacy counter for anyone who needs it, regardless of insurance, will save lives as we work on more structural changes to lower the cost of insurance.
2) Patent reform: In 1923, the discoverers of insulin sold the patent for $1, saying “insulin does not belong to me, it belongs to the world”. Rather than the gift it was intended to be, their discovery has become the poster child for pharmaceutical price gouging. Over the last 100 years, while insulin has improved, even many of the newest insulins are decades old. Still, pharma has created ‘thickets’ of patents around them, allowing them to maintain a monopoly. This patent thicketing, along with pay-for-delay patent dispute settlement agreements, and more has hindered true competition and thus the lowering of drug prices.
