Mylan NV said it would take immediate action to cut the cost of its EpiPen emergency allergy shot following pressure from politicians including presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
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So members of Congress, responding to their angry constituents, want to know why the price of the EpiPen, which can reverse a life-threatening allergic reaction, has risen about fivefold in the past decade.
An episode at a restaurant in Novi 15 years ago, when a bit of a friend’s shrimp landed in her order, ended in a call to 911 and an ambulance ride to the hospital, where she stayed for two days.
News also found out that over the same period of time, Mylan Pharmaceuticals raised executive pay and compensation by more than 600%.
Manchin spokesman Jonathan Kott said Wednesday the senator had no comment. Since there is no apparent justification in this case, I am calling on Mylan to immediately reduce the price of EpiPens.
Clinton, a former senator from NY, on Wednesday called Mylan’s price increases “outrageous”, and “just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage of its consumers”. “The only explanation for Mylan raising the price by nearly six times since 2008 is that the company values profits more than the lives of millions of Americans”.
Parents across the country are concerned about the sudden skyrocketing price of EpiPens. In 2007, the wholesale price for an EpiPen in the USA was around $57 and our insurance company paid everything but the co-pay. Mylan didn’t just say “no”, but “hell no”, and Coury blasted Teva’s management and culture in a public letter to Teva’s chairman.
“Unfortunately, the shelf life of epinephrine is not very long and the need to refill prescriptions on an annual basis can result in a financial burden for patients”, Casale said.
The EpiPen is an auto-injector that delivers epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, a hormone that can help to relax muscles. Its only US competitor, Sanofi, abandoned the American market in 2015.
EpiPen maker Mylan lobbied hard for approval of the legislation that would boost sales of their product. It has also provided a big chunk of its growth.
Lawmaker criticism may be theatrical, but can be effective. As a mother wrote in the HuffingtonPost earlier this year, her family was shielded for years from the reality of how much Mylan was making off this mandate.
However, he added, “discounts for selected customers without lowering the overall price of EpiPens are insufficient, because the excessive price will likely be passed on through higher insurance premiums”. That tax “inversion” drew the ire of President Obama, who criticized Mylan and other companies as unpatriotic.
The list price isn’t typically what a consumer with health insurance or coupons might pay.
But scrutiny may encourage once friendly legislators to adopt less favorable policies – for example, encouraging regulators to approve generic drugs and medical devices more quickly.
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.
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Allow medicare to negotiate drug and biologic prices. Political controversy may send this multiple even lower. Some may see what Mylan is doing as good business moves, Silverman said.
