Recent measures by Mylan to appease consumer and activist concerns about the rising price of their allergic reaction treatment EpiPen do not go far enough, 20 USA senators wrote in a letter sent to the company on Tuesday. Clinton taps Warren ally to sit on transition team Warren leads 20 senators in letter grilling EpiPen maker MORE (D-Mass.) penned a letter with 19 other senators to the maker of EpiPens Tuesday, questioning the company’s recent attempt to address the outrage over its price hikes.
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“We understand the deep frustration and concerns associated with the cost of EpiPen to the patient, and have always shared the public’s desire to ensure that this important product be accessible to anyone who needs it”, Mylan Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch said in a statement.
Bresch is the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.
This week, Mylan said it will launch a generic version of EpiPen that will cost half the price. “Mylan’s near monopoly on the epinephrine auto-injector market has allowed you to increase prices well beyond those that are justified by any increase in the costs of manufacturing the EpiPen”. The lawmakers asked Mylan to answer detailed questions by September 12. Mylan caused a controversy last week when it raised the cost of the EpiPen two-pack to 0, more than six times more than the product cost in 2007, when it began selling the product, according to the New York Times newspaper.
Some politicians have called for: Congressional hearings on the escalating pricing, an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, and action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to increase competition by hastening approvals of competitors’ products, the AP reported.
Most pharmacists have been trying to help patients afford EpiPens by directing them to coupons from Mylan to reduce copays that can cost hundreds of dollars. Coupon cards are a standard pharmaceutical industry strategy, one that leaves employers and taxpayers still footing at least two-thirds of a big bill and everyone facing eventual higher insurance premiums. “And Mylan asserts that the generic is “identical to the branded product” – further calling into question the excessively high price of branded EpiPens”.
Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf about the lack of competition for auto-injection devices.
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“EpiPens are a critical and often only option for saving kids from the brink of death during severe allergic reactions”.
