Diabetes patients across the UK can now access Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s biosimilar insulin glargine Abasaglar (previously Abasria) following its launch across the country this week.
The drug is a once-daily injectable prescription medicine approved to treat diabetes mellitus in adults, adolescents and children aged two years and above.
In September last year, Abasaglar became the first insulin treatment cleared through the European Medicines Agency’s biosimilar pathway, offering patients with diabetes a new option for long-lasting sugar control.
Clinical studies have shown the product to have a comparable quality, safety and efficacy profile to Sanofi’s blockbuster Lantus.
A spokesperson for Lilly confirmed to PharmaTimes Digital that the price of Abasaglar is £35.28 for both the 100unit/ml 3ml x 5 Cartridges and the 100unit/ml 3ml KwikPen. Lantus is priced at £41.50 for 100unit/ml 3ml x 5 Cartridges.
“Biosimilars will help expand available therapeutic options to address individual patient needs and should provide additional value beyond cost savings,” she stressed. “We anticipate they will be priced competitively as part of a broad continuum of treatment options.”
“The first priority for healthcare companies today is to match the medicine to the specific need in a patient’s treatment journey,” she noted, adding: “This is where our expertise counts, helping more people to manage diabetes effectively in the UK through access to treatments that add value”.
