While the price of the unbranded pen has been slashed enormously, it remains thrice the cost of the EpiPen in 2007, after which time prices accelerated dramatically year-on-year.
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Mylan did not immediately respond to request for comment. The auto-injecting life saving generic drug will be made available in the markets in the coming weeks.
Porter said he wanted to buy three sets of EpiPens to keep in their cars and at home, but he said it’s more than $300 for him to purchase the device in the United States.
If the FDA and news outlets would educate the public about this alternative, meaningful competition and market forces would quickly bring down the cost of the EpiPen.
It was reported on Monday that Mylan may be releasing a generic version of its own product. That assistance will also be offered to people getting Mylan’s generic EpiPens, but the $300 copay cards will only work with brand-name EpiPens. “The price is what Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies pay”.
The company reduced the out-of-pocket costs of EpiPen for some patients last week, but kept the list price at about $600, a move that lawmakers said was not enough.
Uninsured patients or those with high-deductible coverage might be stuck paying the full price for the prescription, if they are unaware of Mylan’s savings options. The generic will only ease price concerns if it’s as accessible as a competitor’s product would be, they said.
Sen. Charles Schumer has landed $10,000 in combined campaign contributions from Mylan CEO Heather Bresch and the company’s political-action committee, all of which came in June, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries has been working on a generic substitute for EpiPens, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration won’t allow that drug on the market until at least 2017.
There is also little competition, with the only rival product being Adrenaclick, which carries a list price of $461.
At least two companies are trying to get USA approval to sell a rival brand or generic version of EpiPen. And never mind that Mylan incorporated previous year in the Netherlands and moved its tax home to the United Kingdom to take advantage of lower taxes – although it’s hard to blame them since the US, in a terrific case of short-sighted policy, has the highest statutory corporate tax rate among developed countries.
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Shares in the Dutch-incorporated Mylan, which is headquartered in England, were flat at $43.03 in early trade Monday after losing 12 percent last week amid the controversy.
