A pharmacist holds a package of EpiPens epinephrine auto-injector, a Mylan product, in Sacramento, Calif. Mylan said it will make available a generic version of its EpiPen, as criticism mounts over the price of its injectable medicine.
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Mylan, which mainly sells generic medicines, said Monday it will begin selling its generic version for $300 for a pair of EpiPens, in doses for adults or children, like the current EpiPens.
A group of 20 Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, sent a letter to pharmaceutical company Mylan NV on Tuesday requesting details about the “exorbitantly expensive” price of its EpiPen auto-injector. “When patients receive short-term co-pay assistance for expensive drugs, they may be insulated from price hikes, but insurance companies, the government, and employers still bear the burden of these excessive prices”, the senators write.
The new device is named as epinephrine auto-injector.
Another issue the senators are concerned about is whether Mylan will extend its patient assistance programs to include the authorized generic versions as well, or if not, how the company plans to ensure patient access to the generic.
“We need real competition to lower drug prices, not corporations offering generic versions of their own drugs for whatever price they want”, Sen. “The price of the generic is still three times higher than the cost of the branded EpiPen in 2007”.
But for patients who are candidates for generic drugs, despite the difference in price, patients may only feel comfortable taking brand name medications. “In turn, those costs are eventually passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums”, the senators said.
Bresch sits at the center of a controversy involving the pharmaceutical giant drastically increasing the price of the EpiPen, a life-saving emergency allergy shot. It will allow Mylan to segment the market, because some people will continue to buy the brand-name product. It also reduced the out-of-pocket costs of EpiPen for some patients last week.
The letter echoes a request from the House Oversight and Reform Committee that asked Mylan to submit documents related to sales pricing and profits of the brand-name EpiPen by September 12.
She said the problem is particularly hard for Alaska, especially rural Alaska where the price is as high as $880 per injector two-pack.
Mylan hasn’t responded to Associated Press questions about its costs and income from EpiPen, its most profitable product.
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Shares of Mylan rose 19 cents to $43.22 in trading Monday, while broader indexes rose.
