When drug maker Eli Lilly announced a cheaper, rapid-acting insulin product for consumers hit hard by skyrocketing insulin prices earlier this year, Phoenix residents Julie and Taylor Hoffman were instantly relieved.

But nearly a month after Insulin Lispro Injection was supposed to become widely available in the U.S., the Hoffmans are still trying to find it.

Taylor Hoffman, 23, has Type 1 diabetes and needs insulin to live. She is on her mother's insurance plan, and requires two or three 10 milliliter vials of Eli Lilly's Humalog insulin per month for her insulin pump.

Insulin Lispro Injection is a half-price generic version of Humalog insulin, and the Hoffmans are desperately trying to find it.

"Every single pharmacy in Arizona has told me no. It's nowhere to be found," Julie Hoffman said. "It's indicative of what we've been dealing with for years and relevant just to the state of the pharmaceutical industry."

Eli Lilly says its generic Humalog is available in all 50 states, including Arizona. Yet state Sen. Heather Carter, R-Cave Creek, calls that claim a "stock answer."

"Nobody has it," said Carter, who is vice chair of the Arizona Senate's Health and Human Services Committee and last week called for an "urgent inquiry" into the issue.

Carter said she is scheduled to meet with representatives from Eli Lilly Monday. And she wants to address the overall issue of insulin affordability during the next legislative session.

Insulin Lispro Injection is the "authorized generic" version of Humalog and some pharmacies refer to it as "Lispro." It costs about half the price of regular Humalog, which has a list price of $275 per vial, though they are the same drug and made by the same company. The list price of the generic version is $137.35 per vial. An online GoodRx coupon offers a discounted price of $68.38 to $132.86 per vial.

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The lower-cost generic version is expected to also help seniors who need insulin and who are in the Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage gap, also known as "the donut hole," which requires them to pay a percentage of the cost of each medication.

Carter's mother, who lives in Phoenix, uses Humalog insulin and since she's in the donut hole and on a fixed income, she's eager for the cost saving, Carter said.

The problem with rising insulin prices is so widespread that it inspired an #insulin4all campaign and congressional hearings, which is why news of a half-price version of Humalog insulin was welcomed by many.

One in every 10 Arizona adults has either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, a recent report from the Arizona Department of Health Services says. Everyone with Type 1 and many people with Type 2 diabetes require daily insulin.

Julie Hoffman, who is the advocacy chair for the Arizona chapter of the American Diabetes Association, has been on a mission to find the cheaper insulin. As of Tuesday, she'd called more than 100 individual Arizona pharmacies and all said they did not have Insulin Lispro Injection and that it was not yet available at wholesalers for them to order, she said.

"It could be an awareness issue. We are working to make pharmacists and other health care professionals aware of this new product’s availability as quickly as possible," Eli Lilly spokesman Greg Kueterman wrote in an email. "This is the first time a company has made available a lower-priced version of its own insulin — and this means long-term education is needed. We will continue our education efforts about this newest option as long as needed."

Eli Lilly did not provide The Arizona Republic with the names of specific pharmacies where consumers may find its cheaper insulin product, explaining that the company sells its product to wholesalers and wholesalers sell to pharmacies.

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"Not all pharmacies will have Insulin Lispro Injection in stock immediately — in part because they may have limited refrigerator space and demand will likely be smaller compared to other insulins they carry," Kueterman wrote. "However, a pharmacist can order Insulin Lispro Injection through a wholesaler and, in most cases, it will be delivered in one to two days."

Kueterman said people having trouble finding affordable insulin may call the Lilly Diabetes Solution Center at 1-833-808-1234. Hoffman said she called the solution center and the information they provided sounded like it was from a script and did not help her find Insulin Lispro Injection.

'I've cried about it. My daughter has cried.'

None of the 20 Arizona pharmacies contacted by The Arizona Republic in a random survey this week said they had the cheaper, generic drug in stock. The Republic contacted pharmacies in Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Mesa, Prescott, Chandler, Gilbert, Casa Grande and Globe.

Some of the pharmacies said they had taken similar calls asking for generic Humalog/Insulin Lispro Injection, and they hoped it would become available soon. Others were not aware that a generic version of Humalog existed. Three pharmacies said they could order the drug with a valid prescription.

Lauren Hyre, a Phoenix social worker and chapter leader for #insulin4all in Arizona, did her own in-person survey of pharmacies. None of the estimated 20 pharmacies she visited in the Phoenix area had Insulin Lispro Injection in stock, though a couple said they would order it, she said.

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The problem accessing the drug does not appear to be confined to Arizona. On June 11, the website PharmacyChecker posted a story by Gabriel Levitt that says Insulin Lispro is "a very difficult drug to obtain," citing a random survey of pharmacies in Massachusetts, New York, Texas and Connecticut. None of the pharmacies had the Insulin Lispro Injection in stock, though three said they could order it with a valid prescription, Levitt reported.

Eli Lilly's Kueterman wrote in an email that demand for Insulin Lispro Injection likely will be smaller compared to other insulins that pharmacies stock because most people have insurance co-pays that are lower than the list price of Insulin Lispro Injection. But the Hoffmans say Insulin Lispro Injection will save them money.

When Taylor Hoffman was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1998, one vial of Humalog cost $23.37. Since then, the cost has risen. The Hoffmans' out-of-pocket expenses have varied according to their health insurance coverage, but in recent years their own costs have risen significantly due to higher deductible and higher co-pay insurance plans, Julie Hoffman said.

"I've cried about it. My daughter has cried," she said. "The vast majority of people with Type 1 are not using one vial a month. It is outrageous enough that it's just shy of $300, but multiply that by two, three or four a month. ... A generic tier co-pay is less than a brand's, but with no product available, everyone pays the higher brand price."

Cheaper Humalog not a solution for all

Some advocates for people with diabetes see Eli Lilly's new product as a public-relations move to take the heat off drug manufacturers.

"Eli Lilly and the other insulin manufacturers could make this lifesaving drug even more affordable while still making enormous profits," said Elizabeth Pfiester, founder and executive director of T1International, an international nonprofit that advocates for people with Type 1 diabetes. Pfiester said she has not yet heard from anyone who has used or benefited from the Insulin Lispro Injection.

Hyre, who has Type 1 diabetes and uses Humalog insulin, cannot use the generic version because her insurance won't cover it.

But Hyre wants to know whether it's available locally because of her role with #insulin4all, which is supported by T1International. She often helps individuals and families in the Phoenix area who are struggling to pay for their insulin.

At 15, Phoenix resident Izabelle Awadallah is acutely aware of soaring insulin prices, but will not benefit from generic Humalog. That's because Izabelle uses an insulin product called Novolog made by Novo Nordisk to control her Type 1 diabetes. Under her family's insurance formula, that's the most affordable option.

Still, last year Izabelle's family paid about $2,000 in out-of-pocket for costs related to her diabetes. As the eldest of four children, Izabelle said she feels guilt about costing her family so much money.

"I've heard of people traveling to Canada and Mexico to get cheaper insulin. I've thought about it a few times," Izabelle said. "People with diabetes didn't ask for this disease. It should be more financially manageable."

Reach the reporter at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or at 602-444-8369. Follow her on Twitter @stephanieinnes

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