Before EpiPen, there was Daraprim, the drug where the price was hiked 5,000 percent by Turing Pharmaceuticals’ former chief executive, Martin Shkreli, who was dubbed “pharma bro” and widely vilified.
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Here’s a quick look at the controversy over the EpiPen.
EpiPens contain a lifesaving dose of the hormone epinephrine.
Did Mylan come up with the idea for the pen? Heitkamp and several members of Congress are demanding more information from EpiPen maker Mylan N.V. on why prices have soared. Even then, it is not always much cheaper than the EpiPen. Likewise, the profit from the device has been substantial for Mylan. That brought in sales of almost $1.7 billion for Mylan.
Why did the cost go up?
“He has two EpiPens”, Brewer said.
Meanwhile, insurers will foot the bill – and, according to critics, will respond by raising premiums and co-pays on everyone. Mylan makes $274 on every two-pack of the drug sold. But nobody forced Mylan to jack up prices for one last big sales push. The CEO said the increase is due to the rising cost of healthcare.
What does it cost now? So, effectively, we are cutting the price in half, but we’re letting you take control of that.
Bresch did not acknowledge the role that drug companies have played in increasing the price of pharmaceutical products throughout the industry. That’s a price hike of over 400% in the span of nine years.
So how does the average patient afford the medicine they may one day need to save their life? But once their insurance plan reboots in January, the cost will be astronomical. It also said it will offer $300 copay cards, up from the current $100 per-prescription savings.
Mylan announced Thursday that it was doubling the eligibility for its patient assistance program to people with incomes four times higher than the federal poverty level.
The Democratic senator’s daughter is the first female head of a large pharmaceutical company and made a name for herself in the business by turning the EpiPen into a billion-dollar product.
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However, prominent United States politicians, including Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, said that was not enough and demanded Mylan lower the devices’ price. See the letter here. Parents are increasingly feeling the pinch as they fill prescriptions so their children have the life-saving devices at school as well as home. This episode does more to expose flaws than fix them.
