EpiPen
“This step seems like a PR fix more than a real remedy, masking an exorbitant and callous price hike.” — Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D- Conn.
University’s Health Policy Institute.
This week, Mylan joined other drugmakers such as Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and Turing Pharmaceuticals, which have been blasted for mammoth price increases.
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended her company’s price hikes Thursday, telling CNBC that lowering the price was not an option. Bresch said the company receives only $274 of the $608 for a twin package of Epi Pens. She said insurers, pharmacies, prescription benefit managers and distributors divvy up the rest.
Instead of a price cut, Mylan said it was expanding programs that help people pay for Epi Pens or give them out free. It doubled the limit for eligibility for its patient assistance program, so a family of four making up to $97,200 would pay nothing out of pocket. It also said it will offer $300 copay cards, up from the current $100 per-prescription savings. That would cut the bill in half for patients who have to pay full price.
People will eventually be able to order the injected medicine directly from the company, to lower their cost.
“This step seems like a PR fix more than a real remedy, masking an exorbitant and callous price hike,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, DConn., said in a statement.
Epi Pens, which have little competition, are used in emergencies to treat severe allergies to insect bites and foods like nuts and eggs that can lead to anaphylactic shock. People usually keep a number of Epi Pens handy at home, school or work. The syringes, prefilled with the hormone epinephrine, expire after a year.
How much an individual pays depends on insurance coverage. Private insurers often negotiate discounts off the list price, and patient out-of-pocket costs vary by plan. Customers of Express Scripts Holding Co., the nation’s largest prescription benefits manager, pay $73.50. Mylan has said that many people get Epi Pens with no out-of-pocket cost.
The list price for a pair of Epi Pens has been raised repeatedly from $93.88 in 2007, when Mylan acquired the product, according to Elsevier Clinical Solutions’ database of prices set by manufacturers.
Numerous members of Congress and other politicians this week have called for congressional hearings on Mylan’s pricing, an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, and action by the Food and Drug Administration to increase competition by speeding up approvals of any rival products.
After one Epi Pen com- petitor was pulled from the market last year, only one rival product is available, Adrena click, which carries a list price of $461. But Epi Pen, introduced in 1987, is so well known that most doctors prescribe it without considering an alternative.
At least two companies are trying to get U.S. approval to sell a rival brand or generic version of Epi Pen. None is likely to hit the U.S. market until well into next year.
Relief could come sooner from Imprimis Pharmaceuticals, a compounding pharmacy that prepares medicines to fill individual prescriptions. It said it might be able to sell a version in a few months and would likely charge around $100 for two injectors.
Meanwhile, actress Sarah Jessica Parker, whose son has severe nut allergies, wrote on Instagram that she’s cut ties with Mylan and is “disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned” over Epi Pen’s price. Parker was paid to participate in a Mylan campaign.
The maker of EpiPens offered patients more help to pay for its costly emergency allergy shots but didn’t budge Thursday on the $608 price.
The announcement from Mylan N.V. triggered a new round of condemnation from politicians and consumer groups, who accuse the com- pany of price gouging on a potentially lifesaving treatment.
Critics stressed that insurers, employers and taxpayers will still foot most of the cost for EpiPens. Over time, that drives up insurance premiums and the country’s burgeoning health care tab.
“Everybody suffers, except the Mylan investors,” said Sabrina Corlette, of Georgetown