On his Twitter feed, Senator Bernie Sanders has highlighted a variety of news topics ranging from Native Americans to the Dakota Access Pipeline and the AT&T Inc (NYSE:T)-Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) merger. However, his comments on pharmaceutical prices in general and the cost of insulin in particular have drawn the biggest reaction. On October 30 and 31, 2016, he blasted Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL), the makers of EpiPen, and stated that "the entire pharmaceutical industry is out of control." Sanders then posted several infographics showing disparities between the prices of popular pharmaceuticals, such as Crestor, Abilify and Celebrex, in the United States and Canada.
On November 1, Sanders singled out Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Novo Nordisk (CO:NOVOb) and other companies that manufacture insulin. Health care analysts have reported that the prices of some insulin products have increased by 700 percent since 1997. A vial of Lilly's Humalog that used to cost less than $20 now costs nearly $140. He also criticized Sanofi (PA:SASY)'s insulin product Lantus Solostar, which costs $70 in France and $450 in America.
Following the controversial tweets, Eli Lilly stock prices slumped by as much as 2.7 percent falling to $71 per share. Just a few weeks earlier, the company's stock topped $83, a price that was close to its 2016 high in January. The October rise was due to an announcement that Lilly's subsidiary would acquire Boehringer Ingelheim's rabies vaccine portfolio. However, year-to-date figures show that Eli Lilly stock prices are down by more than 13 percent.
For years, Humalog has been a top seller in the fast-acting insulin category. Although the list price has increased, some sources say that the net selling price has fallen by 24 percent. Sales of Humalog missed expectations by $100 million in the last quarter. Eli Lilly has failed to meet analyst expectations in three of the past four quarters.
Novo Nordisk stock has also fallen since late October. Revenue from its insulin product Victoza was up 10 percent. However, its stock prices plummeted from $40 per share to $35 when officials lowered the company's growth estimates.
Bernie Sanders's tweets also forced prices of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:ARIA) down by 15 percent back in mid-October. He highlighted the industry's greed and mentioned that the cost of Ariad's leukemia medication costs more than $16,000 for a month's supply after two price hikes in one year.
Some experts say that the pharmaceutical giants are bracing for pricing oversight during Hillary Clinton's impending presidency. Others believe that the pharmaceutical industry is affected by the perennial pre-election stock slump.