Michigan Court Clears Lilly Insulin Pricing Probe
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- Michigan Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Friday that the state's attorney general may investigate Eli Lilly over its insulin pricing practices
- The court reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked Attorney General Dana Nessel from proceeding with a probe that began four years ago
- Nessel cited state consumer protection laws, alleging Eli Lilly had artificially increased the price of its insulin medication
- Michigan's court filings accused Eli Lilly of charging "grossly" excessive prices for three named insulin products: Lispro, Humalog, and Basaglar
- The state alleged the pricing forced some patients to ration or skip insulin, restrict their diets, or buy less-effective alternatives
- Michigan's filings claimed the practices led to "serious disability and even death in some patients"
Why it matters: With the state's highest court clearing the way, Michigan's four-year-old consumer-protection probe into Lilly's pricing of Lispro, Humalog, and Basaglar can finally advance. The state alleged the pricing forced patients to ration insulin and caused 'serious disability and even death,' giving the AG authority to demand pricing records and pursue an enforcement action against the drugmaker.
