On Monday, Sen. Amy Klobuchar wrote a letter to the FTC, calling for an investigation into the hikes.
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Clinton called on Mylan to “immediately reduce the price of EpiPens” and noted her plan to require pharmaceutical manufacturers to “prove that any additional costs are linked to additional patient benefits and better value”.
The treatments are used to quickly treat the severe allergic reaction known as anaphylaxis, which can include swelling of the tongue or throat, shortness of breath and a rash, according to USA Today. He said that while he realizes that research and development of innovative drugs and medical technology cost billions of dollars, “it must be balanced with the need to ensure patient access to life-saving technology”.
At times her family bought EpiPens four at a time, so there would be one at school, one at daycare, one at home and an extra one if needed.
Coury and Bresch’s contracts also allow them the personal use of the company’s private jets.
And sometimes an EpiPen would go through the wash or be lost, and it would have to be replaced, Henderson said. Through a series of 5% to 20% increases, the price of the lifesaving medication rose to a shocking $500 – and sometimes more, depending on the retailer – this month.
“My throat will close and if I’m not treated by an EpiPen I will die”, she said.
A spokesperson for Pfizer Canada said the price has not changed and there are no plans to do so.
“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.
Although spending on prescription medicines accounts for less than a fifth of overall health-care costs, higher drug prices have become a lightning rod-especially as many patients choose insurance with higher deductible or coinsurance to limit monthly premiums. “There’s no justification for these price hikes”.
Weissman said EpiPen’s U.S. price should be rolled back sharply, noting the product is available for as little as $112 in Canada.
Others are considering using less expensive, traditional syringes, which require more training and are potentially more unsafe.
“Unfortunately, the story of EpiPen is not unique”.
The price of the 62-year-old drug, which is available on the NHS in the United Kingdom, costs roughly 64p to produce.
In January, Clinton admonished Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc, which raised the price of a heart drug.
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Klobuchar is the ranking member of the Antitrust Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He defended Mylan to CBS News on Tuesday.
