HEALTH Walmart launches low-cost, private-brand insulin for diabetes patients

[lonestar09]

I thought this might of interest to many here.

Walmart launches low-cost, private-brand insulin for diabetes patients

Walmart announced Tuesday the first-ever private brand analog insulin, offered at a steep discount on the prescription drug used to treat diabetes.

www.valleycentral.com

Walmart launches low-cost, private-brand insulin for diabetes patients

News


by: Nexstar Media Wire
Posted: Jun 29, 2021 / 09:40 AM CDT / Updated: Jun 29, 2021 / 09:54 AM CDT

A Walmart store sign is visible from Route 28, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, in Derry, N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)








(NEXSTAR) — Walmart unveiled Tuesday the first-ever private brand analog insulin, offering a steep discount on the prescription drug used to treat diabetes.

The retail giant said the new insulin, called NovoLog, is available only through its private ReliOn brand and is set to “revolutionize the access and affordability to diabetes care by offering customers a significant price savings without compromising quality.”




The brand includes analog insulin vials that sell for $72.88 and a FlexPen priced at $85.88. When not using insurance, that amounts to a savings of 58% and 75%, respectively, on the cash price of branded insulin products. Walmart estimates that would mean a savings of as much as $101 per branded vial of insulin or $251 per package of branded FlexPens.


“We know many people with diabetes struggle to manage the financial burden of this condition, and we are focused on helping by providing affordable solutions,” Dr. Cheryl Pegus, executive vice president, Walmart Health & Wellness, said in a statement, citing that diabetes “disproportionately impacts underserved populations.”


NovoLog, a rapid-acting analog insulin, is used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes. A prescription is required to purchase it, and diabetes patients are cautioned to always consult their doctor regarding management of the condition.

About 34 million Americans—nearly 10% of the U.S. population—live with diabetes, the fastest-growing chronic disease in the country. “Diabetes often comes with high medical costs, estimated around $9,601 per person per year,” Tracey D. Brown, chief executive officer of the American Diabetes Association, said in a statement. “We welcome all affordable solutions that make diabetes management more accessible to millions of Americans living with diabetes.” The new NovoLog insulin injection, manufactured by Novo Nordisk, will be available in the U.S. in Walmart pharmacies this week and Sam’s Club pharmacies by mid-July.

 

[packyderms_wife]

That's still bloody expensive, how long does one vial last?

 

[hiwall]

Good for Walmart!!

I'm sure Walmart is doing this just to make money but that is fine because it will also save many Americans a lot of their money.

 

[parsonswife]

I take insulin N from Walmart now..$25 a bottle which last about two weeks. That's 2 shots a day. If I went to the more convient once a day pen type it would have cost me $800 a month.

 

[FireDance]

That's still bloody expensive, how long does one vial last?

Really! 28 days is official life span. You know the really bad thing? I wouldn’t want to buy their brand unless I knew for a fact it wasn’t being sourced from China. Of course, the stuff they have now may be and you’d never know it. But, I suppose that if I needed it, I would probably just get it and pray.

 

[LinuxFreakus]

Interesting... I'm trying to understand the true effect of this? I am not diabetic, but is this the "good stuff" that people go on about? I know walmart has offered cheap insulin for a while, but although I don't know the specifics, I know people say its the "crappy kind" that is a lot "harder to use".... but I don't know the reasons behind that.

 

[Profit of Doom]

Really! 28 days is official life span. You know the really bad thing? I wouldn’t want to buy their brand unless I knew for a fact it wasn’t being sourced from China. Of course, the stuff they have now may be and you’d never know it. But, I suppose that if I needed it, I would probably just get it and pray.

Ask them the source. Asked about their “mexico” pills at the start of shortages last year. Made in Taiwan, precursers from China, I believe.

 

[Profit of Doom]

Really! 28 days is official life span.

Fridge or room temp? Does it matter?

 

[packyderms_wife]

Fridge or room temp? Does it matter?

Fridge, I don't think they have a shelf stable insulin in the US, yet.

 

[nomifyle]

Interesting... I'm trying to understand the true effect of this? I am not diabetic, but is this the "good stuff" that people go on about? I know walmart has offered cheap insulin for a while, but although I don't know the specifics, I know people say its the "crappy kind" that is a lot "harder to use".... but I don't know the reasons behind that.

Here's the rub, harder to use. "They" get people use to the pen thing which is easier and more expensive, now they will be calling the harder to use stuff racist. Mark my words.

Lazy freaking spoiled people, its the ruination of the whole freaking world. I'm out of sympathy for any of them.

Years ago I tried a macrobiotic diet..The woman that was my guide about it said "cut out all baked flour products". Dumbass me I thought she literally meant "flower" products and I'd couldn't figure out what they were. I'm a literal thinker, but through the years I've been able to understand how that works and I work around it. She had good advice, cut out all baked flour products, they are not healthy. My opinion of the macrobiotic is that it is a very healthy diet and will cure many ills but in today's world its hard to follow. We are what we eat.

God is good all the time

Judy

 

[Nowski]

Before I retired, I was using Novolog and Lantus insulins,
and I believe the co-pay was $25 for each prescription,
both of which was a box with 5 pens. Without insurance,
I remember the pharmacists mate at Rite-Aid telling me,
that the prescriptions would be at least $250 for a box.

Make no mistake, diabetes is an industry, and it makes massive
amounts of money, for the pharmaceutical industrial complex.

After retirement, I started using Walmart's ReliOn
Regular and NPH insulins. They are $25 dollars a vial,
and I usually get about 3 weeks out of each of them.

It takes more work, to manage diabetes with non-exotic
type insulins, but it can be done. Earlier this morning my
glucose was 92, following my nightly NPH shot, 6 hours earlier.

The Walmart insulins are made by Novo Nordisk A/S
DK-2880 Bagsvaerd Denmark.

I became type 2 diabetic, because of the statin drugs,
which I took for years, in a vain attempt to stop my
massive heart disease, which the statins did not.

Just finished lunch, so now I have to take my regular
insulin shot, which will work for me, until I take my nightly
NPH shot at 6pm.

Diabetes, always a constant companion. You get to starve,
and fell like shitz most of the time. As one of my best friends,
who is also a type 2 said, that at least you can fight it.

Please be safe everyone.

Regards to all.

Nowski

 

[Profit of Doom]

Fridge, I don't think they have a shelf stable insulin in the US, yet.

Alas Babylon referred to the situation.

 

[Redcat]

I am on Lispro (humalog) along with Glipizide and Metformin. I can get a box of five pens for under $84 at CVS, that beats the Walmart price. I am going to most likely be starting generic Lantus (long acting) in August along with my Humalog (fast acting) and may ditch the pills then. It's a dance to try to balance cost and sugars.

 

[Tristan]

That's still bloody expensive, how long does one vial last?

Generally speaking, depends on the dosage, though once opened/used it is to be discarded after 30 days.

So "up to" 30 days.

 

[Tristan]

On a related note, does anyone have experience in using 'out of date' insulins? Assuming proper storage, of course...

(sorry for the thread drift)

 

[paul bunyan]

For your consideration, not medical advice, i am not a doctor.

Long term old fashioned Insulin stability research (1972)

This study was completed before Lilly patented the first " bio-engineered" Human Insulin. All patented insulin are given short expiration dates like 28 to 40 days to keep you coming back for more.

You can bet they have secret long term storage data that is not available to the public.

Stability of Insulin Preparations | Diabetes | American Diabetes Association

The stability of seven types of pharmaceutical insulin preparations was determined by a bioassay (mouse convulsion method) and a radioimiminoassay after storage

diabetes.diabetesjournals.org

Stability of Insulin Preparations

1. M Pingel, M.Sc. and
2. Aa Vølund, M.Sc., Lie. Techn.

+ Author Affiliations


Diabetes 1972 Jul; 21(7): 805-813. https://doi.org/10.2337/diab.21.7.805

• Article
• Info & Metrics
• PDF

Abstract
The stability of seven types of pharmaceutical insulin preparations was determined by a bioassay (mouse convulsion method) and a radioimiminoassay after storage for different periods at 4° C., 15° C., 25° C., 37° C., or 45° C. in the dark. The seven insulin preparations were: Ordinary Insulin, Protamine Zinc Insulin (PZI), the Lente insulins (Ultralente, Semilente and Lente), Rapitard and Aetrapid.

Full biological potency was registered in all the insulin preparations under study after five years of storage at 4° C.

The biological potency (P(t,T)) as function of time (t) and absolute temperature (T) can be expressed by the formula:

Using the values observed, the constants P0 (initial potency), α, and β were calculated for each type of insulin preparation. According to the formulas the loss in biological potency for all the insulin preparations will be less than 10 per cent after storage for sixty-nine years at 5° C., ten years at 15° C., twenty months at 25° C., three months at 35° C. or ten days at 45° C. The activation energy (Ea), the half-life (t0.5) and the temperature coefficient (Q10) were calculated for each of the seven insulin preparations using α and β. The rate of disappearance of biological insulin activity was found to increase four- to fifteenfold with a temperature increase- of 10° C.

The decline in inmiunological activity was less than that in biological activity, especially in cases where the loss in biological potency was substantial. It is concluded that the immunoassay is no reliable substitute for the bioassay of unknown insulin preparations.

• Copyright © 1972 by the American Diabetes Association

 

[Redcat]

I have used insulin longer than 30 days as long as it's been refridgerated and is not past it's best by date. The difference is miniscule to me. But please remember I have Type II and also take oral meds. I am not fully insulin dependent.

 

[Tristan]

For your consideration, not medical advice, i am not a doctor.

Long term old fashioned Insulin stability research (1972)

This study was completed before Lilly patented the first " bio-engineered" Human Insulin. All patented insulin are given short expiration dates like 28 to 40 days to keep you coming back for more.

You can bet they have secret long term storage data that is not available to the public.

Stability of Insulin Preparations | Diabetes | American Diabetes Association

The stability of seven types of pharmaceutical insulin preparations was determined by a bioassay (mouse convulsion method) and a radioimiminoassay after storage

diabetes.diabetesjournals.org

Stability of Insulin Preparations

1. M Pingel, M.Sc. and
2. Aa Vølund, M.Sc., Lie. Techn.

+ Author Affiliations


Diabetes 1972 Jul; 21(7): 805-813. https://doi.org/10.2337/diab.21.7.805

• Article
• Info & Metrics
• PDF

Abstract
The stability of seven types of pharmaceutical insulin preparations was determined by a bioassay (mouse convulsion method) and a radioimiminoassay after storage for different periods at 4° C., 15° C., 25° C., 37° C., or 45° C. in the dark. The seven insulin preparations were: Ordinary Insulin, Protamine Zinc Insulin (PZI), the Lente insulins (Ultralente, Semilente and Lente), Rapitard and Aetrapid.

Full biological potency was registered in all the insulin preparations under study after five years of storage at 4° C.

The biological potency (P(t,T)) as function of time (t) and absolute temperature (T) can be expressed by the formula:

Using the values observed, the constants P0 (initial potency), α, and β were calculated for each type of insulin preparation. According to the formulas the loss in biological potency for all the insulin preparations will be less than 10 per cent after storage for sixty-nine years at 5° C., ten years at 15° C., twenty months at 25° C., three months at 35° C. or ten days at 45° C. The activation energy (Ea), the half-life (t0.5) and the temperature coefficient (Q10) were calculated for each of the seven insulin preparations using α and β. The rate of disappearance of biological insulin activity was found to increase four- to fifteenfold with a temperature increase- of 10° C.

The decline in inmiunological activity was less than that in biological activity, especially in cases where the loss in biological potency was substantial. It is concluded that the immunoassay is no reliable substitute for the bioassay of unknown insulin preparations.

• Copyright © 1972 by the American Diabetes Association

Thank you!

 

[Breeta]

I take humalog with every meal containing carbs (which amount varies depending how many carbs i am eating- sometimes as many as 25-30 units per meal if i’m eating say a couple slices of pizza), and Lantus (long acting) 60 units with dinner. But every diabetic is different. i am type 1 (autoimmune). My pancreas doesn’t work at all.

The vials can go up to 30 days at room temperature out of the refrigerator. Best to use a “frio” or cooler if going to be out with it in the summer heat. I’d guess I usually go through about a vial of each every 2 weeks. Luckily my insurance covers and I think I pay maybe $100 a month for both.

 

[TerryK]

Fridge or room temp? Does it matter?

Yes it matters. Most insulin is good for 1 month at normal room temperatures and up to a year at 40 degrees in the fridge.
That 1 month time can be affected a lot if the insulin is exposed to temps above 80 degrees.

 

[TerryK]

Interesting fact most people don't know is that you can buy insulin at Walmart over the counter, no script for generic insulin.
IIRC 25 bucks a vial and a vial is 10 ml usually. It is not as easy to use as far as timing and dosing as the injector pens.
It requires you to pay close attention to what and when you are going to eat so you can time your shot.

Pens are usually a different story.
Most people now days are using injector pens. You dial in the number of units you want after you attach a needle and then inject yourself by pushing the button on the top of the pen. Unscrew the needle and discard in a sharps. Put the cap back on the pen and put the pen away.

The pens I use which are the most common are 3ml of 100 units of insulin per ml.
I use Novolog which is called a fast acting insulin. The number of units I use depends on the carbs in a meal.
I also use Lantus which is a slow acting insulin that acts over a 24 hour period.
The advantage of a keto or very low carb diet is that most people can get by without insulin if they are a Type 2.

 

[school marm]

On a related note, does anyone have experience in using 'out of date' insulins? Assuming proper storage, of course...

(sorry for the thread drift)

DH has been type-1 for nearly 40 years, since he was a high school senior. He has always been in excellent control and was in the first group of patients in Reno to get an insulin pump in 1993. A year or two ago his endocrinologist rated him her #2 patient as far as control and hA1c numbers go. (That's just to provide some kind of reference for what kind of control he has.)

Because we know where this country is headed and suspect that insulin and related supplies could become difficult to obtain, he has built up a 2+ year supply of insulin at his current usage rate. He uses outdated insulin frequently. Sometimes a vial becomes less effective, but most of the time it works just fine. This is with the "boutique" insulins, not the cheap stuff. The cheap stuff might have a longer shelf life.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Interesting... I'm trying to understand the true effect of this? I am not diabetic, but is this the "good stuff" that people go on about? I know walmart has offered cheap insulin for a while, but although I don't know the specifics, I know people say its the "crappy kind" that is a lot "harder to use".... but I don't know the reasons behind that.

It isn't "crappy" but it is "old style" where you have to use syringes and measure the dosage yourself. The pens are convenient and generally once per day but not always, depends on how bad your diabetes is and how spread out your doctor wants your injections to be.

The "convenience" types don't work well for everyone. And sometimes it is so convenient that people don't fight to get off the stuff.

 

[Kathy in FL]

Alas Babylon referred to the situation.

Sure did and having that knowledge smack me in the face when I was first diagnosed was a real adjustment reaction.

 

[SlipperySlope]

I wonder if it is just a coincidence that my local Wal-Mart has been out of the $25 Novolin 70/30 insulin for over a month? I will have to switch over to the N when this vial runs out.

 

[dstraito]

Probably should put a magnet to any medicine from Walmart before you use it. W

Paranoid? Maybe. Couldn't hurt though

 

[Housecarl]

Interesting... I'm trying to understand the true effect of this? I am not diabetic, but is this the "good stuff" that people go on about? I know walmart has offered cheap insulin for a while, but although I don't know the specifics, I know people say its the "crappy kind" that is a lot "harder to use".... but I don't know the reasons behind that.

"Loss-leader" to get people into their store....

 

[FireDance]

Fridge or room temp? Does it matter?

It was both. Opened and using 28 days. Refrigerator: 28 days. The refrigerator stuff doesn’t sound right, but you should call pharmacy and ask.

 

[parsonswife]

It was both. Opened and using 28 days. Refrigerator: 28 days. The refrigerator stuff doesn’t sound right, but you should call pharmacy and ask.

My N (novalog) insulin says it's manufactoed in Denmark. opened has shelf life of 28 days without refrigation. Unopened and refrigerated mine has an expiration date two years out. That's why I keep LARGE Backstock in my frig.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

I thought this might of interest to many here.

Walmart launches low-cost, private-brand insulin for diabetes patients

Walmart announced Tuesday the first-ever private brand analog insulin, offered at a steep discount on the prescription drug used to treat diabetes.

www.valleycentral.com

Walmart launches low-cost, private-brand insulin for diabetes patients

Lonestar09 I passed the info you posted along. You may have saved a life.

 

[artichoke]

Well done, Walmart. As so many of our institutions circle the drain these days, Walmart is staying the same or getting better.

 

[John Deere Girl]

Fridge, I don't think they have a shelf stable insulin in the US, yet.

My husband uses Lantus and Novolog, and they are both shelf stable until 28 days. At least, according to the VA. I still store them in the fridge.

 

[lonestar09]

Lonestar09 I passed the info you posted along. You may have saved a life.

Glad it helped you out

 

[TerryK]

My husband uses Lantus and Novolog, and they are both shelf stable until 28 days. At least, according to the VA. I still store them in the fridge.

Same as me
They are good at room temps (80 or less) for a month. If you take them outside and they are exposed to higher temps they may lose some of their effectiveness. They make special insulated wraps and coolers if you have to travel with insulin.

In the fridge your novolog and lantus is good for at least a year, probably more.
The expiration date on the box and on the pens is to protect the manufactures. It's like the best used by date on cans.
In an emergency I'm pretty sure insulin would last much longer than a year if kept at 40 degrees or below, but not freezing, in the fridge.
However most packages also warn against freezing.
I'm retired Navy and my insulin comes in thick Styrofoam boxes with plastic ice packs inside. Once after a hurricane I got a box that got delayed by over 2 weeks. I called express scripts and they sent a replacement order. The insulin in the box was actually hot.

Walmart has done a lot for people of limited financial means and no insurance, when it comes to prescription drugs.
Their $4 generics have saved a lot of people's lives. Their new insulin program promises to also prevent a lot of early deaths of diabetics who formally couldn't get the right types of insulin.
People who incessantly bad mouth Walmart for everything need to learn more and STFU about things they don't know.

 

[Dennis Olson]

Can you reload and reuse the pens?

 

[FireDance]

Can you reload and reuse the pens?

That would be a big nope. The way they work would make it almost impossible to refill without losing insulin. And the risk of contamination of the pen and subsequent infection is huge (again because of the way they work). I would not risk that for the “convenience “ of using a pen. Never.

 

[Tristan]

I wonder if it is just a coincidence that my local Wal-Mart has been out of the $25 Novolin 70/30 insulin for over a month? I will have to switch over to the N when this vial runs out.

They have?

Scheisse.

 

[TerryK]

Can you reload and reuse the pens?

the most common insulin pens only have 3 ml of insulin (300units) and come as a disposable non reusable unit.
Not only are they not refillable but you need to carry extra needles and screw a new needle on each time you use it, and then dispose of the old needle properly.
This pic shows a common insulin pen with the cap removed and a needle screwed onto the end. You dial in the units at the top of the pen and then push on the top to inject that many units. You can see that the pen is already about 2/3rds used by the position of the plunger.


However they do make a pen that uses disposable cartridge's of insulin.

I believe it's the same 3ml capacity. You just buy it as a box of cartridges instead of a box of pens.
Needles come in various sizes in boxes of 100 and are pretty cheap