There’s a shortage of a few insulin products, but alternatives are available

Insulin is an essential medicine that helps the body turn food into energy and regulate blood sugar levels for millions of people with diabetes nationwide. That makes access to insulin vital for people across the country.

VERIFY reader Robert emailed us to ask if there is a shortage of insulin in the United States.

THE QUESTION

Is there currently an insulin shortage in the U.S.?

THE SOURCES

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

• American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP)

• Novo Nordisk

• Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES)

THE ANSWER

There are currently ongoing shortages for certain insulin products in the U.S. However, there are alternatives available.  

WHAT WE FOUND

There is currently a shortage for Levemir and for some generic Insulin Aspart and brand-name Novolog products.

There are no other ongoing reported insulin shortages as of Nov. 16, 2023.

The Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists (ADCES) says Levemir is the only Insulin Detemir product in the United States. Insulin Detemir is a long-acting type of insulin. There are two other long-acting insulins sold under a number of brand names in the U.S.: Insulin Glargine and Insulin Degludec. Both Insulin Glargine and Insulin Degludec have sooner onsets and longer effective durations than Insulin Detemir.

Insulin Aspart is a rapid-acting type of insulin sold as generic Insulin Aspart and under the brand name Novolog, the ADCES says. Another version of Insulin Aspart, Fiasp, is identical to Novolog except it has extra ingredients to stabilize the formula and to increase the speed of the drug’s absorption Other available rapid-acting insulin products include Apidra and Insulin Lispro products such as Humalog. 

Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists (ASHP) reported a shortage of Levemir, although the FDA specified that supply disruptions for Levemir are not expected to begin until mid-January 2024.

Levemir’s website says the shortage is because the drug’s manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, is discontinuing Levemir in the United States due to “global manufacturing issues, decreasing patient coverage, and because we are confident that patients in the U.S. will be able to find alternative treatments.”

Novo Nordisk will discontinue the Levemir FlexPens on April 1, 2024, and the ASHP says the injection pens are expected to be depleted that month. Novo Nordisk will discontinue Levemir vials on Dec. 31, 2024, which will then fully discontinue the brand in the United States.

The ASHP also reports an ongoing shortage of two Insulin Aspart products also produced by Novo Nordisk. The two products are:

• Insulin Aspart Flexpen subcutaneous injection, Novo Nordisk, 100 units/mL, 3 mL pen, 5 count

• Novolog Flexpen subcutaneous injection, Novo Nordisk, 100 units/mL, 3 mL pen, 5 count

No other Insulin Aspart products are in shortage, according to the ASHP and FDA drug shortage databases. This includes other Novo Nordisk Insulin Aspart products sold under its generic name Insulin Aspart and the brand name Novolog.

A Novo Nordisk spokesperson told VERIFY that the company expects supply issues with Insulin Aspart products to be resolved in the coming weeks.

"Novo Nordisk is actively producing and shipping unbranded insulin aspart FlexPen and NovoLog FlexPen. However, wholesalers may experience some backorders for Novolog FlexPen in the coming weeks due to short-term manufacturing delays," Novo Nordisk said in a statement. "We anticipate these NovoLog FlexPen backorders to be resolved by early December, and do not expect this situation to evolve into a drug shortage. We have sufficient supply of unbranded insulin aspart FlexPen and all orders for this product are being fulfilled on time (currently no backorders)."