By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -Novo Nordisk agreed to cap insulin prices to settle a lawsuit in which Minnesota’s attorney general accused the three largest insulin makers of charging astronomically high prices for the diabetes drug.
The settlement filed on Monday in the Newark, New Jersey federal court requires Novo Nordisk to cap out-of-pocket costs for patients who pay with cash at $35 per monthly prescription, regardless of whether the patients have insurance.
Novo Nordisk will also provide free insulin to the neediest Minnesotans, defined as those with annual household incomes at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, equivalent to $128,600 for a family of four.
The Danish company denied wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement, which lasts for five years and requires court approval.
Eli Lilly and the French drugmaker Sanofi reached similar settlements in February 2024 and July 2024, respectively.
Novo Nordisk did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Keith Ellison, the Minnesota attorney general, accused the drugmakers of inflating patients’ out-of-pocket costs for insulin based on the wholesale acquisition cost, or list price, of the drug.
Minnesota accused the three drugmakers of setting artificially high list prices, only to then negotiate lower prices by paying rebates to pharmacy benefit managers.
The case was originally filed in 2018 by Ellison’s predecessor, Lori Swanson.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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