Tension increased among parents, physicians and lawmakers with pharmaceutical company Mylan over the most recent price hike.
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EpiPens deliver an emergency dose of epinephrine when people suffer unsafe allergic reactions. Mylan recently announced it was raising the price of its brand name EpiPen to $600 per two injection pens, a move that has received harsh criticism from both the health community and the government. But pharmacists say co-pay cards can not be used to purchase generic drugs, so essentially patients will still be paying $300. “The introduction of a lower-priced generic version may keep competitors out of the market”.
Mylan is taking a lot of heat these days for boosting the price of its EpiPen by more than 400 per cent. The syringes, filled with the hormone epinephrine, expire after a year.
Mylan hasn’t responded to Associated Press questions about its costs and income from EpiPen, its most profitable product. The company has subsequently been accused of price gouging, attracting the ire of consumers, lawmakers, doctors and at least one disgruntled celebrity endorser.
Adam J. Fein, president of Pembroke Consulting, who studies the drug distribution industry, said that if Mylan had simply lowered the price it would have risked angering all parties in the distribution network, including pharmacy benefit managers, wholesalers and pharmacies, which take a piece of the total amount spent on the drug. “The announced $300 price for Mylan’s generic also comes in too high; the profitable price in Canada is roughly $200 for two, and the price in France is roughly half that”.
Bresch said in 2006 that an authorized generic reduced the incentives for generic drugmakers to get their products approved, by making that 180-day period less profitable.
“I prescribe brand names, when I do not have a choice and there is no generic alternative”, Brahmbhatt said, noting that sometimes the difference between brand and generic can be a hundred or more dollars.
Numerous members of Congress and other politicians this week have called for congressional hearings on Mylan’s pricing, an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and action by the Food and Drug Administration to increase competition by speeding up approvals of any rival products.
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“There is no justification for the manufacturer to raise the price by more than 500 percent in less than 10 years”, O’Toole said in a statement. (This life-saving medication cost about $100 in 2007, in comparison.) Still, the move was not enough to silence US lawmakers. Sanofi has pulled its device from the market, and Teva was forced to delay the launch of its version. The price is still high enough to generate lots of money.
