The EpiPen faces little competition – the drug accounted for 87 percent of all epinephrine prescriptions pharmacies filled a year ago. And that *included sales from a competing brand which has since recalled its product.
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Bresch, Mylan’s CEO, is the daughter of Sen.
She ended up buying just half of the pens prescribed – for just over a thousand dollars — and is hoping she can find another option soon.
Her doctor gave her a prescription for EpiPens.
Klobuchar said she’s always been pushing four separate bills with bipartisan support from Sens. “I still remember that panicked drive to the hospital in Grand Marais, Minnesota”.
They also added “We’ve made a significant investment to support the device”.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D., Conn.), who has asked the company to lower its prices, is holding an event Wednesday where he will call for the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate “potential antitrust violations and deceptive and illegal trade practices”, Bloomberg reported.
A two-dose package cost around $94 nine years ago. In the letter, which asks the company to respond by September 6, Grassley says he has heard concerns about the high cost of EpiPens from many constituents, including a man in Iowa who recently had to pay more than $500 to refill his daughter’s EpiPen prescription.
US Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said in a letter to Mylan CEO Heather Bresch that first responders are now creating homemade kits out of syringes to save money, rather than pay more than $500 for a pair of pens.
“This particular drug is a necessity for some people”, Nair said.
Harris says the bill was proposed past year and will have to be reintroduced this term.
In 2009, the average price of an EpiPen 2-Pak was about $100.
“Everyone can understand in a free market that dollars rule”, Nair said. “Sole supplier of a life-saving drug should have a better margin”.
How much you pay will depend on what type of insurance you have. $300. My iPhone is $700…
“It’s insane, so many kids need them now so it’s like how are you going to be able to afford it if it’s so much, and the kids really need it”, Lutece Richardson of Springfield says. “It’s $300 and 90 percent of Americans are insured”.
CBS News contributor Dr. David Agus criticized the price hike.
The expensive price tag is causing worry that patients might decide to go without.
For example, a person’s blood pressure plummets during an anaphylactic reaction because the blood vessels relax and dilate – epinephrine causes the blood vessels to constrict, which raises blood pressure, according to Mylan, the maker of EpiPens. He has been indicted in an unrelated securities fraud case, but says in his opinion, the EpiPen remains a bargain.
“It’s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them”, Clinton said in a statement. “They’re now charging up to $600 for a two-EpiPen set that must be replaced every 12-18 months”. Richard Blumentahl of CT, have written to Mylan about their concerns.
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Mylan has not yet directly explained its pricing, but in a statement pointed to rising health insurance deductibles that have led to higher costs for consumers.
