People are selling insulin on Craigslist for a fraction of the retail price, a new study published Feb. 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine found.
Researchers from Newark, Del.-based ChristianaCare and Jefferson College of Population Health in Philadelphia found 327 ads for insulin on Craigslist in June 2019 from 240 cities in 31 states.
Of those ads, the most common types of insulin being sold were Sanofi's Lantus, Eli Llly's Humalog and Novo Nordisk's Novolog.
The researchers compared the price of the insulin found on Craigslist to the retail price listed on Drugs.com. The prices for insulin found on Craigslist were, on average, $372.30 cheaper than the retail price.
The unregulated sale and purchase of prescription drugs is prohibited by law and is also against Craigslist policy. Reselling insulin can be dangerous, as improper storage can damage it.
Read the full study here.