U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra has highlighted the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act on reducing insulin prices. He took to social media to express that the Act has played a pivotal role in achieving this outcome.

Becerra stated, "At last year’s State of the Union Address, @POTUS said we would keep working to cap the price of insulin for everyone. And now, thanks to his Inflation Reduction Act, more manufacturers are feeling the pressure and lowering their prices."

A recent news release from the White House provided further details about the Inflation Reduction Act. The legislation enables Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices directly and sets a cap on insulin prices for Medicare beneficiaries at $35. It also mandates free vaccines for adults, obliges drug companies to pay rebates if they increase prices faster than inflation, and offers approximately 15 million Americans an annual saving of $800 on their health insurance.

In a related development, pharmaceutical company Sanofi announced that Lantus, the most widely prescribed insulin in the country, will now be available at $35 per month for insured Americans.

Olivier Bogillot, head of U.S. General Medicines at Sanofi, said: "Sanofi believes that no one should struggle to pay for their insulin and we are proud of our continued actions to improve access and affordability for millions of patients for many years." Bogillot went on to say: "We launched our unbranded biologic for Lantus at 60 percent less than the Lantus list price in June 2022 but, despite this pioneering low-price approach, the health system was unable to take advantage of it due to its inherent structural challenges. We are pleased to see others join our efforts to help patients as we now accelerate the transformation of the U.S. insulin market. Our decision to cut the list price of our lead insulin needs to be coupled with broader change to the overall system to actually drive savings for patients at the pharmacy counter."