Under fire, the CEO of Mylan, the maker of the Epipen, says the company is taking immediate steps to lower the cost to some patients.
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But things might have taken an ethically problematic turn, given that the CEO of the pharmaceutical company responsible for the almost 500 percent price increase since 2007, Mylan, has some serious political connections.
On CNBC Thursday morning, Bresch said nobody is more frustrated than her. She pointed out that copays and deductibles are on the rise, too. As federal health minister, and a former family doctor, she’s in a position to know.
She blames the high prices on a failing health care system. “This bubble is going to burst”, Bresch said.
The lifesaving shot sold for about 100 dollars per pack in 2009. “And when drug companies offer patient assistance cards, it’s usually not clear how many patients benefit”.
Mylan spokespersons did not immediately return Romper’s request for comment.
“We have to stop pretending this is a surprise”, Saltz said.
“Price is only one part of the problem that we are addressing with today’s actions”, Heather Bresch, Mylan CEO, said in a prepared statement.
Mylan isn’t the first company to use this strategy to make a high-priced drug more affordable to patients.
After these announcements, Wells Fargo stated that the steps Mylan has made a decision to take to boost EpiPen’s use and affordability is good, but not enough to address the issues raised by the Senate and the patients’ parents. Such savings cards are a classic public relations move by the pharmaceutical industry, said Harvard Medical School professor Aaron Kesselheim, and it will only be used by a fraction of the people who need the drug. Patients who were previously paying the full price for the EpiPen will have their out-of-pocket cost cut by 50 percent.
“Had we reduced the list price I couldn’t ensure that everyone that needs an EpiPen gets one”. So to Mylan, he said this: “If you jack up the price by 500 percent, you’re damn right the premium will go up”.
The list price of the drug is $609 for a two-pack of the injectors, up from less than $100 in 2007, according to data from Truven Health Analytics. Shares of Express Scripts dropped 6 percent Thursday.
Bresch said she welcomes calls by members of the U.S. Senate for her to testify. It also said that volatility in supply chain is likely to remain due to such risks which are hard to quantify.
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Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter to Mylan demanding an explanation for the increase.
