Facing criticism from patients, consumer advocates, lawmakers, and physicians about huge price increases on the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, drugmaker Mylan today announced it will introduce a generic version of the epinephrine auto-injector for half the current sticker price of the name-brand drug.
According to Mylan, the generic epinephrine shot will be listed at $300 for a pack of two. That’s still three times what the drug cost only eight years ago.
The generic will be identical in every way to EpiPen, says Mylan, and will be sold in two strengths (.15 mg and .30 mg) when it hits pharmacies within “several weeks.”
Rather than just slash the price on EpiPen, Mylan will sell both the generic and the name-brand version (for people who want to pay twice the price, apparently).
In a statement, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch pointed the finger at the product’s price hikes — most of which have occurred under her tenure as either CEO or, before that, Chief Operating Officer — on the “complexity and opaqueness of today’s branded pharmaceutical supply chain” and “the increased shifting of costs to patients as a result of high deductible health plans.”
Mylan acquired EpiPen in 2007 as part of its $6 billion acquisition of Merck’s generic drug division. In the nine years since, the price of the drug has increased by as much as 600%.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared on Consumerist.