Walmart launches low-cost, private-label insulin – KIRO 7 News Seattle

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Walmart Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it will offer its own low-cost brand of insulin to improve access to the life-saving diabetes drug and counter the surge in Amazon’s online pharmaceuticals.

Starting this week, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retail giant will launch the exclusive private label version of the analog insulin, ReliOn NovoLog, priced at about $ 73 per vial, or about $ 86 for a pack of pre-filled pens, CNBC reported.

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The drug will cost between 58 and 75% less than branded insulin products for uninsured patients that are currently used, Bloomberg reported.

According to CNBC, the drug will be available to adults and children by prescription, and access will be expanded to the membership-based Sam’s Club in mid-July.

Walmart already sells an inexpensive version of its ReliOn insulin for around $ 25, but some doctors and proponents argue that the older formulation is less effective at treating blood sugar fluctuations than newer analog insulin variants, the network reported.

“Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases in the country,” said Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president and director of health and wellness at Walmart, on a conference call, noting that customer feedback indicated that “cost is a major factor for it are like “You manage healthcare.”

ReliOn NovoLog can be used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and the retailer estimates that more than 3 million of its customers are diabetic, Bloomberg reported.

Warren Moore, vice president of health and wellness at Walmart, said on the call that nearly 11% of the US population, or about 34 million people, are diabetic, which is about 14% of Walmart shoppers.

According to the latest available data from the Health Care Cost Institute, annual insulin costs for people with type 1 diabetes in the United States nearly doubled from $ 2,900 in 2012 to $ 5,700 in 2016, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, Amazon launched its online pharmacy in November and began offering six-month prescriptions starting at $ 6 earlier this month to capture a larger share of the US prescription drug market of $ 465 billion, Bloomberg reported.

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