Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, a Democrat whose daughter relies on EpiPen, urged the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the price increase of the medication, calling it “unjustified”.
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“Discounts for selected customers without lowering the overall price of EpiPens are insufficient because the excessive price will likely be passed on through higher insurance premiums”, said Clinton campaign spokesman Tyrone Gayle, adding that the company should lower the price “immediately”.
“At the end of the day there may need to be stronger legal protections against these types of price gouging and profiteering at the expense of people who need a lifesaving drug where the company has a stranglehold on the market”, he says.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and members of Congress from both parties have quickly ramped up criticism of the price Mylan charges for the medicine.
Carolyn Janis, 35, of Middlefield, Connecticut, is waiting to fill a new EpiPen prescription for her 2-year-old son, Noah, that’s needed before he starts daycare next month.
Mylan says it will provide some patients with a savings card that will cover up to $300 for a two-pack of EpiPens.
The price of the product, acquired in 2007, has skyrocketed to $600 from $100 in 2008.
Earlier this year, Clinton chastised drug companies for exorbitant pricing and unveiled a plan that she said would cut costs, making the issue not only a hot election discussion topic but potentially an issue that could have policy implications if she is elected. For patients who were previously paying the full amount of the company’s list price for EpiPen®, this effectively reduces their out-of-pocket cost exposure by 50%.
Meanwhile, several senators on Wednesday asked the Food and Drug Administration about its approval process for generic equivalents that might help increase competition and lower prices.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Mylan demanding an explanation for the increase. “My frustration is, the list price is $608”.
When told in an interview that the product has not changed during the repeated price increases, Bresch responded, “No one is more frustrated than me”.
Roughly 40 million Americans have severe allergies to spider bites, bee stings and foods like nuts, eggs and shellfish. She said insurers, pharmacies, prescription benefit managers and distributors divvy up the rest.
That cost stance brought a wave of new money from investors who drove Mylan’s shares up more than 2 percent in morning trading, while major US indexes slipped. Doctors prescribe the pen to mostly children. It also noted that its $300 savings card would cut the bill in half for patients who would otherwise have to pay full price for the EpiPen.
Mylan also announced that it is doubling the eligibility for patient assistance to 400% of the federal poverty level. “It’s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them”, she wrote. That means that a family of four earning as much as $97,200 per year would pay nothing out of pocket for the treatment.
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“We have been a long-term, committed partner to the allergy community and are taking immediate action to help ensure that everyone who needs an EpiPen Auto-Injector gets one”, Mylan chief executive Heather Bresch said in a statement.
