STATEMENT ON ELI LILLY CUTTING OFF ALL ACCESS TO 340B PRICING THROUGH COMMUNITY-BASED PHARMACIES
WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 1, 2020— The following statement on Eli Lilly’s decision to refuse 340B pricing for any of its drugs that are dispensed through community-based pharmacies is attributed to 340B Health President and CEO Maureen Testoni:
“Eli Lilly’s refusal to offer 340B drug discounts through community pharmacies will hurt hospitals, health centers, and clinics as well as the patients they serve who are living with low incomes and in rural areas. Lilly’s action violates federal law. Lilly and other manufacturers must not be permitted to make an end run around the 340B statute in a brazen attempt to avoid their responsibilities under the program. We call on Health and Human Services Secretary Azar to enforce the statute and prevent these actions.”
“Lilly is the manufacturer of some of the costliest and top-selling drugs used by patients with diabetes. By blocking access to 340B ceiling prices on drugs that covered entities dispense through pharmacies in their communities, the company is preventing those savings from going toward expanded care for those patients, including direct assistance with patient care costs. Lilly’s stated ‘exception’ to this new policy for insulin is no real exception at all, as it prevents covered entities from realizing any 340B savings by barring pharmacies from filing insurance claims on insulin or even charging a fee for the cost of administering the drugs.”
“As we said after Lilly first announced its refusal to offer 340B discounts for one of its drugs (an action that several other manufacturers closely followed), if the administration will not use its authority to enforce the law, we will pursue all legislative and legal avenues available to us to defend the safety net.”
Contact: Richard Sorian at richard.sorian@340bhealth.org or 202-536-2285.