A settlement between Eli Lilly and insulin users has collapsed after a federal judge’s ruling that denied class certification for the lawsuit.
The original settlement stemmed from a 2017 lawsuit in which patients sued the three biggest insulin manufacturers — Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi — and accused them of “artificial and fraudulent inflation” of their insulin prices in the US.
Last May, Lilly and the plaintiffs announced a deal in which Lilly would pay $13.5 million and continue to cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month for the next four years.
But in January, a New Jersey federal judge denied class certification for the suit, writing that while the lawyers’ 12 proposed classes met some requirements, they did not meet others. And on April 12, lawyers for the plaintiffs wrote on behalf of their clients and Lilly that both parties would not move forward with the settlement.
In a statement to Endpoints News, an Eli Lilly spokesperson said the determination to deny class certification reaffirmed “what Lilly has said all along: these insulin pricing suits lack merit.” The spokesperson added that Lilly was the first to cap insulin prices at $35 per month in March 2023 for patients on commercial insurance.
Steve Berman, a lawyer for the patients, told Endpoints that his side has since filed another complaint trying to be certified as a class action lawsuit, “and we hope this time we solve the court’s concerns.”
In a separate letter written to the court on April 15, lawyers for the plaintiffs asked to reinstate deadlines for Lilly to respond to their complaint by May 17, consistent with the other defendants in the case, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi.