Morrisey says that Mylan now controls up to 90% of the US market for epinephrine auto-injectors, which has allowed it to raise prices from around $100 for a two-pack in 2009 to more than $600 for the same two-pack today.
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West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey disclosed the investigation on Tuesday, announcing he had petitioned a state court to order Mylan turn over documents related to EpiPen in response to a subpoena his office issued in August.
On the eve of a Congressional hearing on the soaring price and lack of competition for the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, the attorney general for West Virginia has confirmed his office is investigating EpiPen maker Mylan for allegations of antitrust violations and Medicaid fraud. The company initially agreed to cooperate, but has since failed to respond to the majority of the subpoena.
EpiPen jabs a dose of the drug epinephrine into the thigh to counter unsafe allergic reactions such as to peanuts, food allergies and bee stings.
What the Senators would like to know is whether or not Mylan may have manipulated the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program (MDRP) by classifying EpiPen as a generic drug when it is in fact not.
Manchin took over this role in 2012, the same year her daughter was made CEO of Mylan, and eleven states soon followed her direction by drafting laws that required epinephrine auto-injectors in schools.
The company is also being investigated by USA officials and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
Drug companies are required to pay rebates to Medicaid, which are significantly higher for brand-name drugs than for generics.
Mylan said last month that it would introduce the first generic version of EpiPen for $300, half the price of the branded product, as it tries to quell the backlash.
Chen also said investors were unsure of the benefits from Mylan’s recently completed $7 billion acquisition of Swedish drugmaker Meda, which some had deemed expensive.
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Schneiderman’s investigation in NY, meanwhile, centers on whether Mylan violated antitrust laws in its contracts to provide EpiPens to some school systems.
