Walmart (NYSE:WMT) is launching what it describes as the first private label analog insulin. The company estimates the insulin products will save customers between 58% and 70% of the cost of branded insulin.
Novo Nordisk (NYSE:NVO) will manufacture the analog insulin, which is a type of lab-grown insulin genetically engineered to optimize glucose control. The retail price of analog insulin vials will be $72.88, while a FlexPen insulin pen will cost $85.88. Walmart has concluded that the per-unit savings of the products will be $101 per vial and $251 per insulin pen, respectively.
The insulin will only be available through Walmart’s ReliOn brand of diabetes products.
In 2012, Walmart announced its ReliOn line of private label products, including test strips, glucometers, syringes and other products for people with diabetes.
A file image of the Novo Nordisk Flexpen
Warren Moore, Walmart’s vice president of health and wellness, said that approximately 14% of the company’s customers have diabetes. According to CDC, 10.5% of the overall U.S. population has the condition.
The cost of insulin has swelled in recent years, increasing 11% each year from 2001 to 2018, according to the American Action Forum.
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