California to begin selling affordable state-branded insulin beginning
next year
[October 17, 2025]
By CHRISTOPHER WEBER
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that California will
begin selling affordable insulin under its own label on Jan. 1, nearly
three years after he first announced a partnership to sell state-branded
generic drugs at lower prices.
But California won’t be the only state making lower-cost insulin
available. The nonprofit Civica said it will also distribute its
economical diabetes medication to pharmacies nationwide. California
began partnering with Civica in 2023 for its “CalRx” brand of insulin
and put $50 million toward its development, the company said.
Starting in the new year, insulin pens will be available at a
recommended price of $11 per pen, or a maximum of $55 for a five-pack,
Civica said.
“You don’t need a new prescription,” Newsom said at a news conference in
Los Angeles. “It's access on the basis of affordability.”
It is one piece of California's effort to lower prescription drug costs
by offering generics as a cheaper alternative. Newsom announced in April
that the state will sell the overdose medication Naloxone. The drug,
available as a nasal spray and in an injectable form, is considered a
key tool in the battle against a nationwide overdose crisis.
For the insulin development, the state entered a 10-year deal with
Civica and Biocon Biologics in early 2023. Officials said then that they
hoped California’s emergence as an insulin-maker would prompt prices to
collapse.
The new pens will be interchangeable with glargine, the generic
alternative for more expensive once-a-day injections that regulates
blood sugar. As a comparison, the equivalent of a five-pack of Eli
Lilly's Rezvoglar sells to pharmacies for more than $88, according to
data compiled by the governor’s office, but consumers may pay a
different price based on their insurance.
About 38 million Americans — and roughly 3.5 million Californians — have
diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association.
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces CalRx-branded insulin
glargine pens available next Jan. 1, 2026, at a suggested retail
price of no more than $55 per five-pack, or $11 per pen, during a
news conference at Cedar-Sinai's Mark Goodson pharmacy in Los
Angeles, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Chris Noble, organizing director of Health Access California, a
statewide consumer health care advocacy group, welcomed Newsom’s
announcement, saying efforts by California and others to develop a
competing generic will bring relief to patients who have seen drug
prices spike in recent years.
“California consumers need relief now, so health advocates are relieved
to see CalRx moving quickly to lower insulin costs for the people of
California while continuing to pursue other needed prescription drug
cost solutions," Noble said in a statement Thursday.
There could be risks. State analysts have warned that California's entry
into the market could prompt other manufacturers to reduce the
availability of their drugs, a potential unintended consequence.
State lawmakers approved $100 million for the project in 2022, with $50
million dedicated to developing three types of insulin and the rest set
aside to invest in a manufacturing facility.
According to state documents from 2023, the proposed program could save
many patients between $2,000 and $4,000 a year. In addition, lower costs
could result in substantial savings because the state buys the product
every year for the millions of people on its publicly funded health
plans.
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