A group of 11 diabetes patients have recently decided to collectively file a lawsuit against three drug companies that they allege are systematically increasing their list prices for insulin in an act of 'pricing fraud'.
They say that the pricing-fix saddles patients with crushing and unexpected expenses and that they are only able to do this because of the monopoly that they hold in the market. They filed their lawsuit in the U.S. District Court In Massachusetts. They are arguing that the drug companies are in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act as well as state consumer protection laws.
The insulin market is currently dominated by a small group of companies and they make billions of dollars every year selling this product. They've decided to steadily raise their prices for years and where it used to cost an individual about $21, it now can cost them up to $255 for the same vial. The mess has gotten so bad that last year, Sen. Bernie Sanders actually asked for a formal federal investigation to take place into the possibility of collusion happening with regard to this market and insulin prices.
What the market (and the people) needs is a little more freedom so that it can foster an atmosphere of innovation and competition, that is what will inevitably help consumers and work toward driving the price down. There are millions of patients in the US alone who suffer from diabetes and need to take insulin and they could benefit from having more options, rather than being forced to pay whatever the current crony market decides that they should.
Expiring Patents
Some expect that the price for insulin could begin to fall, thanks to a number of insulin patents that have recently expired. And they say that this will pave the way for further competition in this area, but it's still an area of the market that is choked with government interference. It's no wonder that we don't see much progress very quickly.
The insulin market is expected to grow to about $43 billion by 2021.
Sources:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/01/30/diabetes-patients-sue-insulin-makers-for-pricing-fraud/?tid=sm_tw&utm_term=.276a9edacc4b
http://www.businessinsider.com/sanofi-novo-nordisk-lilly-named-in-class-action-insulin-lawsuit-2017-1
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMms1411398
https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2016/08/25/866781/0/en/Human-Insulin-Market-Poised-to-Surge-from-USD-27-0-Billion-in-2015-to-USD-43-6-Billion-Globally-by-2021-ZionMarketResearch-Com.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-drug-companies-keep-insulin-prices-high/