Popular insulin product enters shortage as other pens leave market

STAT News  – Thursday, July 23, 2026
By Isabella Cueto

People with diabetes who use a popular long-acting insulin pen made by Sanofi have had to become pharmacy scouts in recent weeks as they encounter supply issues.

The Lantus Solostar pen containing 3 milliliters of insulin glargine has been running low for several weeks because of increased demand “driven by broader market dynamics,” a Sanofi spokesperson told STAT. The issue is not technically considered a shortage by the Food and Drug Administration, but patients are nonetheless having trouble finding the medication.

“Our priority is ensuring patients have access to their medications,” the spokesperson said. “This is a temporary situation that we anticipate will improve over the coming weeks.”

In the mean time, people are scrambling to find doses or backup options. While some diabetes patients have had luck finding the medication at small independent pharmacies or their hospital pharmacy, large pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens are coming up dry, they report.

“I have now called 6 pharmacies and I am currently crossing my fingers for a particular one to get back to me with good news,” Idaho resident Joy Jones posted on her Facebook last week.

Jones, who has type 1 diabetes, has been on Lantus since she was diagnosed in 2009 and said she had never experienced a shortage of the medication before.

“The increased costs of diabetes meds are already costing people so much, but then to have to worry about whether we can even access medication is even worse,” she told STAT.

The Lantus ordeal is the latest in a string of complications for patients trying to control their blood sugar and for the pharmacists trying to source those medications. One possible contributor to the shortage is patients switching over to the Lantus pen from other products that have been discontinued.

Eli Lilly will stop making the Basaglar Tempo, a smart insulin pen users can pair with apps and continuous glucose monitors, next week. Biocon Biologics discontinued Semglee, a long-acting insulin interchangeable with Lantus, at the end of 2025. It is now sold in an unbranded form.

Novo Nordisk discontinued its long-acting insulin Levemir at the end of 2024, citing problems with manufacturing and insurance coverage. All the attention on GLP-1s has caused some diabetes patients to feel left behind by Novo, Lilly and other makers of insulin.

“Patients with diabetes are so used to being jostled around,” Shaina Kasper, executive director of T1International, told STAT. She was on Levemir for years until the product was cut. Kasper said she had not heard about the Lantus pen shortage until a reporter reached out, but she knows firsthand how annoying it can be to manage medicines as a person with type 1 diabetes.

“Going just a few hours without insulin can be hugely problematic and can lead to significant complications,” she said.

People with type 1 need both short-acting and long-acting insulin, while type 2 diabetes patients mostly rely on long-acting forms. A recent survey Kasper’s group conducted found a majority of patients prefer insulin pens to vials because they are easy and carry less stigma than vials.

Drug shortages have been occurring for decades, but usually they fly below patients’ radar. In recent years, a shortage of ADHD medication and Estradiol patches has stoked public concern over the problem. There are over 200 active medication shortages in the U.S. right now.

“They’re becoming more and more common at the pharmacy counter,” said Michael Ganio, senior director of pharmacy practice and quality at ASHP.

Pharmacists are rushing to manage and replace prescriptions within the bounds of what a patient’s insurance and condition will allow. That can sometimes be complicated depending on what version of insulin, and what product is on the formulary.

“The pharmacy can’t just change the prescription from pens to the vials. In many cases that’s going to require a brand-new prescription,” said Erin Fox, an associate chief pharmacy officer at University of Utah Health.

Pharmacists can try to switch patients over to Semglee or Rezvoglar, the FDA-approved biosimilars, if their insurance allows that. Or they could ask prescribers to go for Lilly’s Basaglar, which comes in pen form.

Nathan Pitman, 34, said his pharmacy has been out of Lantus for over a week. He searched online for a biosimilar and was able to quickly get a new prescription for Rezvoglar. “I was fortunate enough to have a doctor’s appointment that week,” said Pitman, who has type 1 diabetes and has been on Lantus for six years.

However, his insurance wouldn’t cover the new medication, so he had to get a savings card from Lilly to cap the cost at $35 per month. Pitman says he went a day or two on a rapid-acting insulin while he waited for the new long-acting pen.

Some patients have had to switch to vials, which are usually available. The old-fashioned method of drawing medication out of a vial with a syringe can create challenges for users. Many people, including pediatric diabetes patients, are accustomed to the convenience of a pre-dosed injection. The Lantus pens can go without refrigeration for weeks; many vials cannot.

Self-injecting also carries a risk of error that can be amplified if a patient changes regimens, he said. Also, insulin syringes measure in units, while vials are in milliliters.

If the shortage continues, patients may need to switch over to a different routine, such as a short-acting insulin taken after meals, instead of long-acting insulin between them.

“It just becomes really frustrating for patients to have to go to their pharmacy, to their prescriber, dealing with their insurance, learning their new regimen,” Ganio said.

A Sanofi spokesperson told STAT he did not have a definitive timeline for when the supply would return to normal. Drug companies are not required to disclose such information or provide status updates to the public.

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