CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) As a pharmaceutical company run by U.S. Sen. A pack of two EpiPens now costs more than $600, which is six times the 2004 price, according to Elsevier’s Gold Standard Drug Database. The Minnesota Democrat says there’s no way that drug-maker Mylan can justify such steep increases.
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Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar, whose daughter relies on EpiPen to protect her from the effects of anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic reaction, has called the Federal Trade Commission to launch an anti-trust investigation.
Mylan Pharmaceuticals has come under fire for raising the price of epinephrine injectors from US$100 to US$500 over the course of five years, a price tag critics say puts it out of reach for many parents.
Two other senators, Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia and Richard Blumenthal of CT, also wrote the company about the high prices.
“As the parent of a child with severe allergies, I am all too familiar with the life-or-death importance of these devices”, Warner wrote.
New York Rep. Grace Meng on Tuesday asked the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold a hearing.
In a statement issued Monday, Mylan said it has savings programs for patients and is also offering free EpiPens to schools.
Since the start of the EpiPen4Schools initiative in 2013, more than 700,000 free EpiPen Auto-Injectors have been distributed, and more than 65,000 schools, approximately half of all US schools, have participated in the program.
With changes in the healthcare insurance landscape, an increasing number of people and families are enrolled in high deductible health plans, and deductible amounts continue to rise.
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Mylan spokeswoman Nina Devlin declined to comment specifically on the letters.
