Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has launched a lawsuit accusing three major insulin manufacturers, three pharmacy benefit managers and their affiliated rebate companies of driving up the cost of diabetes medicines.
Announcing the action at a news conference in Tampa on Tuesday, Mr Uthmeier said Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk and Sanofi supplied more than 90% of the world’s insulin. The case also names CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx, which he said process about 80% of prescriptions in the United States.
The rebate aggregators linked to the pharmacy benefit managers — Zinc, Ascent and Emisar — are also defendants.
Florida insulin lawsuit targets alleged price-fixing
Mr Uthmeier alleges that the companies engaged in price-fixing, anti-competitive conduct and deceptive trade practices involving insulin and other diabetes-related medicines, including GLP-1 drugs.
The lawsuit brings claims under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act and the state’s Antitrust Act. His office is seeking a permanent injunction, restitution, the repayment of allegedly unlawful gains, damages and civil penalties.
“Insulin is not a discretionary drug for a lot of people,” Mr Uthmeier said. “Here in the United States a lot of people — 2.3 million Florida adults, one in 10 — have diagnosed diabetes, and insulin can be for many people, the difference between life and death.”
He added: “People should not have to live in fear over the price of a life and death drug, when you have big corporations that are focused on making billions rather than serving the citizens of our great state.”
State Representative Danny Alvarez, former state representative Jackie Toledo and independent pharmacists attended the announcement at Blue Palms on Fletcher Avenue in Tampa.
None of the manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers or rebate companies named in the case had responded to the allegations at the time of the announcement.
The action comes as the Federal Trade Commission pursues a separate case against the three major pharmacy benefit managers and their affiliated purchasing organisations over alleged rebating practices that it says artificially inflated insulin list prices. In February 2026, the FTC announced a settlement with Express Scripts requiring changes to its business practices.
Mr Uthmeier said further lawsuits could follow in the coming weeks and months as his office continues its investigation.
