WASHINGTON:

A five-fold price hike for epipen, which allergy sufferers use to counteract life-threatening reactions, has made Mylan the newest drugmaker to come under attack in the United States for profiteering.

Mylan Pharmaceuticals, which holds a near-monopoly position on the epinephrine injectors used by millions against severe allergic attacks, was assailed by two powerful US senators for pumping up the price over six years from $100 to more than $500.

That has rendered epipens unaffordable to many sufferers — who must replace them each year — and is costing the government huge sums to stock schools with them and fund insurance programs which pay for them, the lawmakers said Monday.

“I am concerned that the substantial price increase could limit access to a much-needed medication,” senior Republican Senator Charles Grassley, chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee, said in a letter to the company.