Eli Lilly & Co. Price Drop

For Immediate Release

Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Contact: 

admin@essentialmedicine.org

Washington, DC - Following the announcement that Eli Lilly & Co. will be lowering the price and costs of insulin for consumers, Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) issued the following statement.

Ted Malpass, a UAEM student leader at the University of Santa Cruz said “As a University student and patient who has been prescribed Humalog, the insulin that Eli Lilly was the first to commercialize, genetically synthesize, and monetize, I hope today's victory lasts a lifetime. Humalog was built off Lilly’s purchase of $1 more than 100 years ago from the University of Toronto and at the new list price of $25, the spirit of Insulin's inception was recognized today. It was a daily travesty to study as a Type 1 Diabetic knowing that the heights of research and innovation that was done at University of Toronto became a discovery that was not used to uplift but crush future generations. This will hopefully cement the importance of the role pharmaceutical giants can play in delivering lifesaving university research to patients who are in need.”

Eli Lilly's recent decision will change the experience for millions of patients in the U.S. and around the world, but the fact that only one manufacturer has taken these steps speaks to the very point of our work. Universities Allied for Essential Medicines is calling for technologies developed on our campuses to be available and affordable for people who need them today, not 100 years later. It's time for us to take a hard look at university patenting and licensing to make sure patients don't have to suffer for a century before a company changes its business model. 

That is why we have created the Equitable Technology Access Framework, a tool that can be used by universities to get ahead of their patenting, licensing, and technology transfer strategies to ensure patients can afford the lifesaving inventions created in our labs. 

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