Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Login
  • My Account
  • Logout
  • Register For Free
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HLTH 2024
    • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
  • Opinion
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity Leaders
    • Leading Women
    • Best in Business Awards
    • The 2030 Playbook Conference
    • Innovations in Patient Experience
    • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
    • Leadership Summit
    • Workforce Summit
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Diversity Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2025
    • - Financial Growth
    • - Hospital of the Future
    • - Value Based Care
    • - Looking Ahead to 2026
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Skilled Nursing Facilities
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
    • Sponsored Content
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Supply Chain
June 29, 2021 03:51 PM

What Walmart's lower-priced insulin means for the market

Steven Ross Johnson
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print
    Walmart sign

    Walmart's launch of its own brand of analog insulin could have big pricing implications for a market that has been under fire in recent years by critics for the rising costs of their drugs.

    The world's largest retailer announced Tuesday it will sell a less expensive version of Novo Nordisk's analog insulin product, Novolog, under Walmart's new private label, ReliOn Novolog. It will be available at its more than 4,800 pharmacies beginning this week and at its Sam's Club pharmacies starting in mid-July.

    "This price point we hope will improve and hopefully revolutionize the accessibility and affordability of insulin," said Dr. Cheryl Pegus, Walmart's executive vice president of health and wellness in a call with reporters.

    Walmart's offerings will cost $72.88 for vials and $85.88 for a FlexPen version. The average price of a vial of analog insulin ranged from $174 to $300, according to a 2018 study in the American Diabetes Association journal, Diabetes Care. An estimated 3 million of Walmart's customers are believed to have diabetes. ReliOn Novolog insulin will require a prescription, Pegus said.

    The affordability of analog insulin is a longstanding issue for many of the more than 34 million Americans with diabetes.

    Between 2012 and 2017, average out-of-pocket spending on insulin rose from $77 in 2012 to $113 in 2017, an increase of more than 40%, according to the Health Care Cost Institute.

    The steep rise in insulin prices have prompted Congress to investigate potential root causes.

    Across the globe, the U.S. has the highest insulin prices by far of any developed nation. A 2020 RAND Corp. report found the average manufacturer price per unit of analog insulin was $99 in the U.S., compared to the second most expensive country Japan, which paid $14 per unit.

    Novo Nordisk Spokesman Michael Bachner said the company was aware of the affordability challenges, but that they were driven by many factors, and that there was no single solution help everyone.

    "We remain committed to providing options in the marketplace to help people afford the medicine they need," Bachner said.

    The insulin launch marks the latest, and potentially most substantial step Walmart has taken made yet into a therapy market valued at around $27 billion.

    For years the retailer has sold human insulin over-the-counter under its ReliOn brand at a price of about $25 a vial.

    But patients who switched from analog versions of insulin to the more affordable OTC human insulin types faced a number of safety concerns if they were not monitored by a doctor. Human OTC insulin products can have less predictable rates of absorption, making it more difficult to regulate blood sugar levels compared to analog insulin.

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    Dollar sign money
    KKR takes strategic stake in medical supplier Henry Schein
    UPS
    How healthcare became UPS’ $20B lifeline
    Most Popular
    1
    New York-Presbyterian layoffs affect 2% of employees
    2
    Here are new state healthcare laws taking effect in 2025
    3
    Meet Modern Healthcare's 2025 Leading Women
    4
    Evernorth, Optum, CenterWell units buoyed insurers in Q1
    5
    What would Medicaid cuts look like? Missouri gave a preview
    Sponsored Content
    Daily Dose Newsletter: Sign up to receive a late afternoon weekday roundup of that day’s breaking news and developments in healthcare.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2025. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HLTH 2024
      • Sponsored Content: Vital Signs Blog
    • Opinion
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity Leaders
        • Leading Women
        • Best in Business Awards
      • Conferences
        • The 2030 Playbook Conference
        • Innovations in Patient Experience
        • Leading Women Conference & Awards Luncheon
        • Leadership Summit
        • Workforce Summit
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Diversity Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2025
        • - Financial Growth
        • - Hospital of the Future
        • - Value Based Care
        • - Looking Ahead to 2026
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Skilled Nursing Facilities
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing
      • Sponsored Content