Controversy over cost of the EpiPen, the epinephrine injection that treats severe allergic reactions to foods or insect bites, isn’t fueled just by the string of price increases since Mylan bought the product in 2007.
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The boss of USA firm Mylan, Heather Bresch saw her pay increase from $2,453,456 (£1,853,763) to $18,931,068 (£14,303,791) in the same period the cost of the drug rose.
The FTC declined to say on Tuesday whether an investigation into Mylan was underway.
“You’d just poke it in his leg if he couldn’t breath and it just opens everything back up”, explains Henderson.
The contrast between Bresch’s lavish lifestyle – her signature designer five-inch stilettos for example – and those of ordinary families struggling to afford the drugs her company sells is a theme that has come up again and again.
“The expiration date is usually a year, at most 14 months (after purchase)”, she said.
And sometimes an EpiPen would go through the wash or be lost, and it would have to be replaced, Henderson said. Do I absolutely have to have it?’ ” said Epstein, an allergist with Allergy Partners of Central Indiana. “I can’t imagine having to pay that without my insurance. All involved must also take steps to help meaningfully address the USA healthcare crisis, and we are committed to do our part to drive change in collaboration with policymakers, payors, patients and healthcare professionals”.
The price of a pack of two EpiPens has gone from 0 in 2008 to 0 this year.
Mylan offers coupons which allow many families to pay little or nothing for the EpiPen, but families with no insurance or high deductibles are still paying hundreds of dollars.
A Mylan spokeswoman said Wednesday that the company has reached out to every lawmaker who has sent them a letter on the pricing issue and looks forward to meeting with them and responding to their questions.
“Thousands of Americans rely on EpiPens in a given year, and perhaps no time is more important in the purchasing of these devices than the beginning of a new school year”, Meng wrote in a letter to committee chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and top Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland.
Klobuchar was not impressed.
“Although the product is unchanged since 2009, the cost has skyrocketed by more than 400 percent during that period”, the AMA wrote in a statement.
They include Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., whose daughter requires an EpiPen for her allergies, and Sens.
Lawmakers have been pressing the drug manufacturer Mylan for a reason why. But among a broader audience, few people know who she is.
Others are considering using less expensive, traditional syringes, which require more training and are potentially more unsafe.
The EpiPen story may seem shocking, but it fits a pattern. But she added that “it’s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them”.
Those with extreme allergies are seeing sticker shock at the pharmacy when it comes to restocking their EpiPen – a device that contains the drug epinephrine that reduces swelling in the event of a reaction. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc was caught in a whirlwind of criticism after it dramatically increased the price of a heart drug.
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At a press conference in Hartford Wednesday, Blumenthal called for hearings on the price spikes by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee.
