Texas Attorney General Sues Insulin Manufacturers and Pharmacy Benefit Managers Over Price-Fixing Conspiracy That Increased Prices by 1,000%

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against several major insulin manufacturers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), alleging a conspiracy to inflate insulin prices.

The lawsuit targets pharmaceutical companies such as Eli Lilly And Co LLY and PBMs, including Cigna Corp's CI Express Scripts and CVS Health Inc's CVS CVS Pharmacy, accusing them of engaging in an unlawful scheme to raise insulin prices.

Also Read: US Federal Trade Commission Sues CVS Health, Cigna, UnitedHealth's Pharmacy Benefit Managers For Inflating Insulin Prices.

According to the lawsuit, insulin manufacturers artificially raised the prices of their drugs while paying PBMs a significant, undisclosed portion in return for preferred placement in PBM offerings.

The PBMs allegedly rewarded the manufacturers with the highest list prices by giving their products preferred status while excluding more affordable alternatives.

These insulin drugs, which cost manufacturers less than $2 to produce, were introduced in the late 1990s at $20 per vial. However, prices have now soared to between $300 and $700 per vial.

Over the past decade, some manufacturers have raised insulin prices by as much as 1,000%.

Paxton expressed outrage over the alleged scheme, stating, "This is a disturbing conspiracy by which pharmaceutical companies were intentionally and artificially inflating the price of insulin. Big Pharma insulin manufacturers and PBMs worked together to take advantage of diabetes patients and drive prices as high as they could." He vowed to hold these companies accountable for their actions.

The complaint further claims that while PBMs have publicly positioned themselves as entities working to reduce drug prices and improve treatment access, their actions tell a different story.

The lawsuit argues that the PBMs have colluded with insulin manufacturers to manipulate the market for their financial gain, all at the expense of Texas diabetics and healthcare payors.

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