Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced a lawsuit against insulin manufactures Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, and Sanofi, pharmacy benefit mangers CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx, and rebate aggregators Zinc, Ascent, and Emisar for allegedly inflating published list prices for insulin and similar diabetes drugs.
The lawsuit also alleges the company's paid rebates and fees to the pharmacy benefit managers in exchange for "preferred formulary placement," according to a release.
“These companies told Florida families they were working to make insulin affordable,” Uthmeier said during a press conference. "Instead, they inflated the sticker price of a medicine people cannot live without and left Florida patients to pay it. My office is holding them accountable.”
Attorney General Uthmeier noted Eli Lilly, NoVo Nordisk, and Sanofi supply more than 90% of the world's insulin. CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, and OptumRx also process approximately 80% percent of U.S. prescriptions.
About 2.3 million Florida adults, or one in ten, have diagnosed diabetes.
“Florida families deserve to be treated fairly, especially our most vulnerable residents," Florida House Rep. Danny Alvarez added. "When companies take advantage of the people who can least afford it, there must be consequences and that’s what this lawsuit will help figure it out. I'm grateful to Attorney General Uthmeier for standing up for Floridians and making sure all wrongdoing is held to account, and they answer for the harm they may have caused."
In addition, the lawsuit covers GLP-1 (glucagon-like peptide-1) and products including Ozempic, Trulicity, Victoza, and Soliqua.
The lawsuit, filed in the Eleventh Judicial Circuit, includes two counts under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and one count under the Florida Antitrust Act. Attorney General Uthmeier is seeking a permanent injunction restitution, disgorgement, damages, and civil penalties for Florida families affected by the alleged practices.
