Geneva/Nairobi, 2 December 2025
Dr Elizabeth Jarman, noncommunicable diseases technical advisor, MSF Access:
“Novo Nordisk’s discontinuation of human insulin pens and older and more affordable analogue insulin pens, such as Lemevir, for commercial reasons is yet another unacceptable example of pharmaceutical corporations putting profits before people’s health. Many people with diabetes will now be forced to change their medication, and will have to make the difficult decision of either paying more for newer analogue insulin pens which are the standard of care or switching to less expensive insulin in vials injected with difficult-to-use, often painful, and less accurate needles and syringes. Pharmaceutical corporations should stop the unilateral discontinuation of lifesaving health products and, in parallel, drop the price of newer analogue insulin pens so that all lifesaving insulin treatments remain equally available and affordable to those who need them.”
Notes:
MSF has significantly increased the number of diabetes consultations in its medical programmes: in 2024, MSF performed 213,838 diabetes-related consultations globally. As many of MSF’s medical programmes provide free human insulin pens, a cessation of supply will have a direct impact on the people in our care. Learn more about how people’s lives can be impacted when the diabetes medical tools they need and prefer are no longer accessible.
Insulin is classified as either human or analogue and by its duration of action – short, intermediate, or long-acting. Both human and analogue insulin are made in a laboratory, but analogue insulins can reduce episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) and improve long-term control of blood sugar levels, and as such, facilitate better health outcomes.
