UnitedHealth to work on making diabetes drugs more affordable

UnitedHealth to work on making diabetes drugs more affordable

Oct 13 (Reuters) – UnitedHealth Group (UNH.N) said on Friday it will focus on finding a way to make GLP-1 drugs, used for the treatment of weight loss and diabetes, more affordable for its customers.

“Our customers … are concerned about the prices of GLP-1s that are set by manufacturers, (and) OptumRx will continue to negotiate lower prices through discounts over time,” said Patrick Conway, head of the company’s pharmacy benefit management (PBM) unit.

OptumRx, UnitedHealth’s PBM unit, acts as intermediaries between insurers and drugmakers to negotiate prescription drug prices.