The company owes the American people more than just an explanation – we need to see action to bring down the cost of this drug so it is accessible to those who need it.
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The price of a lifesaving EpiPen has skyrocketed, and that’s putting people with severe allergic reactions at risk.
Last week, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota called for a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate possible antitrust violations by Mylan, which raised the price of a two-pack of its EpiPen product from $100 in 2008 to $500 to $600 in 2016.
Introducing a so-called authorized generic is a fast way for Mylan to get a cheaper version out without actually cutting the price of the branded EpiPen, which the drugmaker plans to continue to sell.
Viehman said for her children, EpiPens are a necessity. “When they can not afford it, or have put off buying a new EpiPen after their old one has expired due to price increases, death is a very real possibility”.
However, the price is still three times what the product cost just a few years ago, and consumers on average receive a 90 percent discount for generic medications.
“Mylan has put forward a series of steps they purport would increase access to EpiPens, but none of these options offer a real solution”.
“There’s no way that we can expect a patient or parent to break open vials, draw up the correct amount, inject into somebody who is rapidly getting sick, calling 911 all at the same time”, he said.
Innovative new drugs and therapies will be worthless if no one can afford to buy and use them.
Kraig says after getting almost exclusive use, the prices went up. In a separate letter to Bresch sent Monday, Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) call on Mylan to turn over internal documents on its sales, communications, contracts and reimbursements related to its EpiPens. Consumers Union of U.S. Inc.
This all comes days after Mylan’s first response to quell the storm of angry consumers, which was to offer $300 instant savings cards for patients paying out-of-pocket for the drug, so the drug still costs about $300, much like the generic solution.
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He added that Mylan moved its corporate headquarters from the United States to the Netherlands “to avoid taxation”. The director of the Center for Healthcare Research and Transformation at the University of Michigan, Marianne Udow-Phillips, feels the generic version of EpiPen will lower your expense if you have a health plan that has co-pay or a deductible. With the epinephrine auto-injector, you’ll remove two grey caps, then push a red tip against your outer thigh until the needle punctures your skin.
