美国国家公共电台 NPR How Much Difference Will Eli Lilly's Half-Price Insulin Make?

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Drugmaker Eli Lilly has announced it will be offering a cheaper version of Humalog, its insulin drug. Humalog is one of the most widely sold insulin drugs in the United States. Between 2009 and 2017, the wholesale¹ price of a single vial tripled - according to data from IBM Watson Health - to $274.70. So what does the availability of a cheaper version mean? That's what we'll ask health reporter Bram Sable-Smith, who's based in Madison, Wis.

Thanks for joining us.

BRAM SABLE-SMITH, BYLINE²: Thank you, Lulu.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: So Bram, tell us what kind of insulin we're talking about here because someone who needs insulin can need a combination of different kinds, right?

SABLE-SMITH: That's exactly right. So what we're talking about is a fast-acting insulin. So for most patients, that's about half the insulin that they use. The other half is going to be - we call it basal insulin. That's just to keep your blood sugar at a normal rate. This fast-acting insulin - this is what you use when you're eating carbohydrates³. And how much you use depends on how many carbohydrates you eat. So you need less when you're eating a small salad than you do for when you eat a big bowl of pasta, like I did last night.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: OK. So they're promising⁴ a discount on one of the kinds of insulin somebody with diabetes⁵ needs. So is it actually a break financially?

SABLE-SMITH: Well, for some consumers, yes, it will be. So insulin will be potentially a little bit cheaper for them. Most patients use one or two vials of insulin per month. And this new insulin is priced at just under $138 per vial. Now, because of insurance, most patients - about 95 percent - are already paying less than $100 per vial. So the impact of this new insulin is really aimed at people who are exposed to the high list prices. And those are people with high-deductible health plans as well as the uninsured. And for them, the cost of a vial could drop in half, from $280 to $138. But remember. This is only one of the two types of insulin that they probably need.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Why is the company doing it?

SABLE-SMITH: Well, they say they're doing it to help people. But the context for this timing⁶ here - the timing of this announcement is that there've been a lot of stories about people who've suffered and even died because they couldn't afford their insulin. Drug companies recently got grilled⁷ by the U.S. Senate. And it was a bipartisan grilling⁸. In Minnesota, last October, the outgoing state attorney general actually sued the three big insulin makers⁹, alleging¹⁰ price gouging¹¹. So there's a lot of pressure here. There's lots of bad press. And this is almost a low-stakes way for them to say that they're offering a cheaper product.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: All right. Last question - you've written a lot about insulin and diabetes because you were actually diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in your 20s. What kind of reaction have you seen among not only activists¹² on this issue but also just people living with this condition?

SABLE-SMITH: Yeah. There's a lot of conversation on what I like to call diabetes Twitter as well. I'd say it's been met with a lot of ambivalence¹³ and a fair amount of frustration¹⁴. So buying insulin - it's not a choice for people with Type 1 diabetes. You either take it, and you live or you don't take it, and you die. Those are the stakes for being able to afford insulin. So one thing to remember is that Humalog entered the market in 1996 at about $21 per vial. So this generic¹⁵ version of Humalog at $138 - it's still six times more expensive than that original price. And a little bit more context - an independent analysis last year estimated each vial only costs the company about $6 to make. So there's still a ton of profit here and advocates are frustrated¹⁶ with that.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: That's health reporter Bram Sable-Smith. He's part of NPR's reporting partnership¹⁷ with Kaiser Health News. Bram, thanks so much.

SABLE-SMITH: Thank you, Lulu.

1 wholesale   

n.批发；adv.以批发方式；vt.批发，成批出售

参考例句：

• The retail dealer buys at wholesale and sells at retail.零售商批发购进货物，以零售价卖出。
• Such shoes usually wholesale for much less.这种鞋批发出售通常要便宜得多。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 carbohydrates   

n.碳水化合物，糖类( carbohydrate的名词复数 )；淀粉质或糖类食物

参考例句：

• The plant uses the carbohydrates to make cellulose. 植物用碳水化合物制造纤维素。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All carbohydrates originate from plants. 所有的碳水化合物均来自植物。 来自辞典例句

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 grilled   

adj. 烤的, 炙过的, 有格子的 动词grill的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• He was grilled for two hours before the police let him go. 他被严厉盘查了两个小时后，警察才放他走。
• He was grilled until he confessed. 他被严加拷问，直到他承认为止。

8 grilling   

v.烧烤( grill的现在分词 )；拷问，盘问

参考例句：

• The minister faced a tough grilling at today's press conference. 部长在今天的记者招待会上受到了严厉的盘问。
• He's grilling out there in the midday sun. 他在外面让中午火辣辣的太阳炙烤着。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 alleging   

断言，宣称，辩解( allege的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• His reputation was blemished by a newspaper article alleging he'd evaded his taxes. 由于报上一篇文章声称他曾逃税，他的名誉受到损害。
• This our Peeress declined as unnecessary, alleging that her cousin Thornhill's recommendation would be sufficient. 那位贵人不肯，还说不必，只要有她老表唐希尔保荐就够了。

11 gouging   

n.刨削[槽]v.凿( gouge的现在分词 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Banks and credit-card companies have been accused of gouging their customers. 银行和信用卡公司被指控欺诈顾客。 来自辞典例句
• If back-gouging is applied, grinding to bright metal is required. 如果采用火焰气刨，则应将其打磨至可见光亮的金属表面。 来自互联网

12 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ambivalence   

n.矛盾心理

参考例句：

• She viewed her daughter's education with ambivalence.她看待女儿的教育问题态度矛盾。
• She felt a certain ambivalence towards him.她对他的态度有些矛盾。

14 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

15 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。

16 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。