A Sanofi spokeswoman confirmed UnitedHealth's decision, which she said would kick in from next April. But she said the drugs maker would maintain its guidance for diabetes sales to slip by between 4% and 8% a year on average between 2015 and 2018. Mirabaud analyst Nick Turner called the development "significant bad news because it implies there will be a continuation of the pricing war within the diabetes sector in general and particularly with the insulin." He said the price war will also affect Novo Nordisk ( NVO ), whose competing Levemir product will be lowered to Tier 2 status on UnitedHealth's list from Tier 1. Jefferies analysts noted that they expect the UnitedHealth exclusion, alongside a delay to U.S. approval for Sanofi's LixiLan Lantus-plus-lixisenatide insulin combo, to push the diabetes revenue decline "towards the more bearish end of guidance."