The senators, who noted that the generic EpiPen will cost three-times that of the branded auto-injector in 2007, further questioned why an “identical” product would be priced at half that of the name-brand EpiPen today.
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There’s now little competition for EpiPen.
Coupon cards are a standard pharmaceutical industry strategy, one that leaves employers and taxpayers still footing at least two-thirds of a big bill – and everyone facing higher insurance premiums eventually. But here, Teva Pharmaceuticals, the company developing a generic epinephrine auto-injector is still a bit off from approval after it did not get approval from the Food and Drug Administration, with the agency citing “certain major deficiencies”.
Manufacturer Mylan has been spotlighted recently for raising prices since 2007 from $94 to $608 for a two-syringe pack.
But this authorized generic isn’t the white flag people may have been expecting.
Dr. Matthew Delaney, an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at UAB, said he and his colleagues always prescribe EpiPen for patients who have severe allergic reactions.
In response to national outrage – including calls for congressional hearings and a Federal Trade Commission investigation – Mylan is offering discounts and a consumer assistance program. (This life-saving medication cost about $100 in 2007, in comparison.) Still, the move was not enough to silence US lawmakers.
Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, is the CEO of Mylan and at the center of the controversy. But it seems the actions Mylan is taking to make the EpiPen more accessible are a step in the right direction.
Despite expanding EpiPen use to more groups of people, Conway, who is also a physican, said price increases like this make it more hard for those laws to be put to use. The company said almost 80 percent of patients with health insurance paid nothing extra for their EpiPens.
Additionally, patients enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid are ineligible for the copay assistance program due to a government’s ban on couponing for the two programs, prompting the senators to ask Mylan how it has worked to ensure access to such patients while ensuring they do not receive Savings Cards.
Health insurance doesn’t necessarily help all people who need EpiPens, because those with high deductibles must pay almost the total price. On the other hand, customers of Express Scripts Holding Co., the nation’s largest prescription benefits manager, pay $73.50 on average.
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NBC4 contacted Mylan Monday and have not heard back from the company yet.
