EpiPen maker touts discounts, maintains price

Mylan is bulking up programs that help patients pay for its EpiPen emergency allergy treatment after weathering heated criticism about an average cost that has climbed more than 500% over the last decade.

But the drugmaker didn’t budge on its price, which has drawn ire both in Congress and from families that have had to shell out increasingly large sums for the potentially life-saving treatment.

That means the insurers and employers that pay the bulk of the EpiPen cost for many patients will continue to do so, contributing to higher health insurance costs.

“That’s just going to come out in the premiums,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “Everybody suffers, except the Mylan investors.”

The average price of a two-dose EpiPen package climbed to about $608 this year, up from around $94 nine years ago, according to the Elsevier Clinical Solutions’ Gold Standard Drug Database.

Mylan Chief Executive Heather Bresch told CNBC on Thursday that lowering the price was not an option.

“Had we reduced the list price, I couldn’t ensure that everyone who needs an EpiPen gets one,” she said.

EpiPens are used in emergencies to treat severe allergies that can lead to anaphylactic shock. Roughly 40 million Americans have severe allergies to spider bites, bee stings or foods such as nuts, eggs and shellfish.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and members of Congress from both parties have quickly ramped up criticism of the company and its pricing.

Bresch said Thursday that Mylan gets $274 for a twodose EpiPen package. The rest of the $608 price goes to entities that stand between the drugmaker and the patient, such as insurers, pharmacy benefits managers, wholesalers and drugstores.

Mylan did say, however, that it was doubling the eligibility for its patient assistance program to people with incomes four times higher than the federal poverty level.