Revolutionary diabetes drugs could cost 400 times less and save millions of lives

According to a new study, pharmaceutical companies are pricing diabetes drugs nearly 400 times higher than necessary to turn a profit.

The researchers said it would be possible for modern insulin options, which are safer and provide more precise doses than vials and syringes, to be used even in low-income countries if pharmaceutical companies “put people before their astronomical profits”.

A new generation of diabetes drugs includes Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic, taken by some celebrities as a weight-loss aid, and Eli Lilly’s Trulicity. Currently, these drugs are part of standard treatment in high-income countries, but they are unaffordable in many parts of the world, despite increasing disease rates.

The study used data on ingredient, packaging and logistics costs to calculate the potential price at which companies could make a profit, as well as pay taxes. The researchers concluded that the drugs could be sold profitably for $0.89, but currently have prices ranging from $38.21 to $353.74.

The study is published by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network Open.

“These new drugs are revolutionary for people living with diabetes, but they are being kept away from hundreds of millions of people in low- and middle-income countries who need them. There is no way Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk can provide the world the amount of drugs needed to meet global demand, so they must immediately give up their control and allow them to be produced by more manufacturers around the world,” said Christa Cepuch, one of the authors of the study.