Senator rips EpiPen woes

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who criticized Mylan NV for jacking up the price of its EpiPen allergy shot two years ago, called on federal officials to help end what he called an urgent and alarming shortage of the lifesaving device.

In a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Monday, the Connecticut Democrat said the agency should work closely with manufacturers and distributors to eliminate shortages of EpiPen and other epinephrine auto-injectors. The FDA said Wednesday that while the EpiPen was still available, delays at Pfizer’s Meridian Medical Technologies, which manufactures the device for Mylan, had led to “intermittent supply constraints.”

Blumenthal requested that the FDA detail what steps it’s taken to alleviate supply delays, when the agency was made aware of the problem and why a notice wasn’t published to its database of drug shortages until Wednesday.

“Despite assurances from FDA and manufacturers that shortages are intermittent or isolated, there is solid evidence of widespread unavailability,” the senator said.

A Mylan spokeswoman referred back to the company’s statement from Wednesday, which said the EpiPen “is available and Mylan is currently receiving continual supply” from Meridian. The statement acknowledged that “supply levels may vary across wholesalers and pharmacies” and encouraged patients to call its customer-relations line for help locating alternative pharmacies.