On heels of drug pricing hearings, Democratic lawmakers kick off insulin probe

Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, and Eli Lilly have faced years of scrutiny over insulin prices, but their responses haven't satisfied two Democratic lawmakers who this week kicked off a fresh investigation into pricing for the products. The probe comes as drug pricing creates daily headlines in Washington, D.C., with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle debating potential solutions. Reps. Frank Pallone, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Diana DeGette, chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, reached out to executives from the three drugmakers with questions over rising insulin prices. As they pointed out in the letters (PDF), insulin was discovered nearly 100 years ago, but list prices continue to rise. In fact, between 2002 and 2013, insulin list prices tripled, according to the letter. And from 2012 to 2016, prices doubled. They cited reports of patients rationing insulin and even dying, due to the high costs. With that background, the lawmakers want to know why prices are so high and what they might be able to do to help.