January 9, 2018 – Generic Insulin

Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:04 — 1.5MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Anchor lead: For people with diabetes who need insulin and other expensive drugs, help may be on the horizon, Elizabeth Tracey reports

There’s no question that managing diabetes can be very expensive, with test strips, many oral medications and insulin really adding up. That fact is acknowledged in newly released management guidelines from the American Diabetes Association. Rita Kalyani, a diabetes expert at Johns Hopkins and chair of the guidelines committee, says cost is an issue.

Kalyani: It’s certainly true that we do need to focus on the economic consequences of the treatments we offer. Last year we added new tables on cost for insulins and non-insulins, and this year we added a second set of cost information, just to assist the health care provider when deciding among different therapies because certainly the rising cost particularly of some of our newer medications, can make it difficult for the patient and also the healthcare provider to use these medications.  :25

Kalyani applauds a recent announcement from the FDA that they will expedite approvals for generic insulin.

Kalyani: Having a generic insulin would help so many and it would be really great to see that come to fruition.  So I’m excited to see the next steps of that.   :08

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.