Mylan chief executive Heather Bresch testifies before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Wednesday.
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The rising cost has made it hard for many families to afford EpiPens, prompting a public outcry that has resonated with legislators.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s hearing featured a string of critics who rebuked Bresch for raising the price of a product with life-or-death implications, especially one that needs to be replaced nearly every year and in a therapeutic space where Mylan has more than 90% market share. Bresch defended the cost.
Heather Bresch tried to defend her company by saying Mylan didn’t profit much from sales of the device – it makes about $50 per pen after costs and fees are deducted. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat, said only a fraction of Americans pay the full $608 list price. The price for twin packs of the devices has risen by more than 500 percent since the company acquired the product in 2007 and now stands at a list price of $608 per two-pack.
The frustration was bipartisan. Bresch said Mylan is hoping to increase this to at least 24 months.
“I think many people incorrectly assume we make $600 off each EpiPen”, Bresch plans to say. She said Mylan should have acted sooner, however, to ease the pain on patients whose high-deductible plans do not pick up the whole cost.
When asked if she understood what the furore was about, she argued that the complexity of drug pricing is partially to blame. She testified she earned $18 million a year ago alone. She said Mylan was trying to address public concerns by preparing to sell a half-priced generic version. “If your loved one needs this, it better darn well be in your backpack”.
Ms. Bresch said Mylan has given away tens of thousands of EpiPens to schools and patients, and the company didn’t anticipate such an outcry.
Bresch said the company was making far less on the drug than the public believed. But the syringes prefilled with the hormone epinephrine expire after one year. The pharma company also gave money to various groups, such as The National School Board, and helped educate and train people on how to recognize and treat an anaphylactic event, she claimed. “Achieving this level of expansion of awareness requires significant investment”.
The Mylan executive has some familiarity with Capitol Hill – she is the daughter of Sen.
To appease critics, the company has also made a decision to soon begin selling the device as a generic drug at a price of $300 – half the price of the EpiPen. But critics have said the coupons, discount cards and patient assistance programs aren’t real solutions because many customers won’t use them or won’t qualify for them.
“But in a way, you’ve done us a favor”, he said, “by showing us what’s wrong with the health care system”.
Holding up an EpiPen, he said: “the actual juice that’s in here that you need costs about a dollar”. “As they are a virtual MONOPOLY this should not be allowed”, said another from 2013 in New Hampshire. That brought in sales of almost $US1.7 billion ($NZ2.3 billion) for Mylan, though the company says it receives about $1.1 billion ($NZ1.5 billion) after rebates and fees paid to insurers, distributors and other health care businesses. Regulators said earlier this year that potential competitor for the EpiPen from Teva Pharmaceuticals had problems with its application and should not be expected to hit the market until 2017 or later.
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The letter was signed by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Senators Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Mike Crapo (Idaho), Pat Roberts (Kan.), Mike Enzi (Wyo.), John Cornyn (Texas), John Thune (S.D.), Richard Burr (N.C.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.), Rob Portman (Ohio), Patrick Toomey (Pa.), Dan Coats (Ind.), Dean Heller (Nev.) and Tim Scott (S.C.).
