People struggling to pay for diabetes or obesity medications may soon get some relief.
A new study suggests that blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which have skyrocketed in popularity but come with sky-high price tags, could potentially be manufactured for a fraction of their current costs.
Insulin Overpriced by Up to 97 Percent Globally
Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, the study employed modeling data to estimate the manufacturing costs of insulins, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2 inhibitors), and glucagon-like peptide 1 agonists, also known as GLP-1 agonists.To establish a cost-based price, the research team ran models incorporating the costs of pharmaceutical ingredients, operating expenses, and a profit margin. They then compared these cost-based pricing estimates to the current market prices for insulin drugs across 13 countries worldwide, including France, Latvia, the UK, the U.S., Bangladesh, Brazil, China, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Morocco, South Africa, and Ukraine.
Insulin costs varied depending on how patients administered the medication.
For a basal-bolus regimen, insulin in a reusable pen device could cost as low as $96 per year, while insulin analogues could cost around $111 per year. Twice-daily injections of mixed human insulin were estimated at $61 per year, with human insulin costing $50 and insulin analogues costing $72 annually.
The estimated cost-based prices for insulin analogues were between 25 and 97 percent lower than the lowest current market price, according to the research team.
The research team wrote that the cost-based prices for GLP-1 agonists were “substantially below the lowest current market prices.” Producing popular GLP-1 agonist drugs, such as Ozempic, Wegovy, or Zepbound, cost between $0.75 and $72.49 per month. Currently, Novo Nordisk, the manufacturer of Ozempic, offers the lowest dose for $935.77.
Potential for Affordable Insulin Worldwide
The cost-based price analysis indicates that insulin can be made more readily available to the millions of people living with diabetes worldwide.Only half of the 63 million people living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes have access to insulin, with price being one of the main barriers to access, according to the study.
The cost of GLP-1 agonists could become more accessible “once a robust global and biosimilar market emerges,” the research team wrote.
