Half-off sale at Eli Lilly as drug rebating climbs to 51% in 2017

Eli Lilly has been among the pharma companies most affected by tough pharmacy negotiations in recent years, and in 2017, the drugmaker offered more than half off its U.S. list prices in the form of rebates and discounts, according to its latest pricing report. That's an average discount across its portfolio, and it's featured in a new disclosure of net and list prices. Lilly took U.S. list price hikes of 9.7% in 2017, on average, the report said. After rebates and discounts, the price increases came to 6%. The company discounted more than half of its list prices, or 51%, up from 50% in 2016. In diabetes, Lilly said mandatory government discounts have resulted in U.S. insulin prices that are "among the lowest in the world, and lower than developed markets with single-payer, direct-purchase models." It did not disclose pricing for its own insulin offerings, however. Major insulin players have come under fire for list-price increases in recent years and face class actions from patients and payers.