Inhaler Manufacturer Caps Prices at $35 After Baldwin Launches Investigation into High Costs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Boehringer Ingelheim, one of the biggest manufacturers of inhalers, today announced they will be capping the out-of-pocket cost for all their inhaler products at $35 per month. This follows Senator Baldwin and her colleagues launching an investigation into the high costs Americans pay for inhalers and demanding answers from the four biggest inhaler manufacturers, including Boehringer Ingelheim, on why they charge hundreds of dollars more for their products in the United States than elsewhere.

“No American should go broke just to afford the medication they need to stay healthy. For the millions of Americans who rely on inhalers to breathe, this news is a major step in the right direction as we work to lower costs and hold big drug companies accountable,” said Senator Baldwin. “I was proud to lead the investigation into big drug companies’ price gouging and will continue to hold inhaler manufacturers’ feet to the fire until we can bring down the cost of all these products for Americans.”

Starting June 1, 2024, eligible patients will pay no more than $35 a month at retail pharmacies for all Boehringer Ingelheim inhalers. In January, Senator Baldwin and three of her colleagues on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) launched an investigation into the extremely high prices four large pharmaceutical companies, including Boehringer Ingelheim, charge for inhalers that 25 million Americans with asthma and 16 million Americans with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rely on to breathe. The Senators sent letters to the CEOs of the four biggest manufacturers of inhalers sold in the United States – AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), and Teva – which charge between $200 and $600 for each inhaler, typically purchased monthly. In Wisconsin, more than 500,000 people have asthma and nearly 6 percent of the population is estimated to suffer from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Earlier this year, Senator Baldwin also called on the four biggest inhaler companies to stop unfairly locking out generics from the market and driving up the cost of inhalers for Americans. Specifically, in letters to AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, and Teva, Senator Baldwin called on the companies to stop improperly listing patents for inhalers in the Orange Book and stifling competition. 

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