Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against major insulin manufacturers, including Eli Lilly, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) such as Express Scripts and CVS Pharmacy, accusing them of conspiring to inflate insulin prices. The lawsuit claims that manufacturers artificially raised insulin prices and then paid a portion back to PBMs in exchange for preferred status in their offerings, excluding lower-priced alternatives.
Insulin, which costs manufacturers less than $2 to produce, was originally priced at $20 when introduced in the late 1990s. Today, prices range from $300 to $700, with some insulin prices increasing by 1,000% over the last decade. Paxton alleges that this pricing scheme violates the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, constitutes unjust enrichment, and is part of an illegal civil conspiracy.
In the lawsuit, Paxton stated, “Big Pharma insulin manufacturers and PBMs worked together to take advantage of diabetes patients and drive prices as high as they could. These companies acted illegally and unethically to enrich themselves, and we will hold them accountable.”
The complaint highlights that PBMs falsely represent their role in lowering drug prices while, in reality, coordinating with manufacturers to distort the market for diabetic treatments. Legal representation for the case includes Liston & Deas, David Nutt & Associates, the Cicala Law Firm, and Foreman Watkins Krutz.
