Though the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment has been around for decades, the increased demand for the drug and its soaring price tag have caused Medicaid spending on EpiPen to go from around $66 million in 2011 to $365 million in 2015. All this time, claims Andrew Slavitt, Acting Administrator for the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mylan’s parent company has been shortchanging Medicaid on rebates. [More]
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After Confusion Over EpiPen Profits, Lawmakers Want Proof Of Drug’s Actual Costs
By 10.3.16
When Mylan CEO Heather Bresch recently testified before the House Oversight Committee, she claimed that the company only made $50 per EpiPen, in spite of charging $608 per two-pack of the emergency allergy medicine. Mylan then said it makes around $80/EpiPen — a figure that lawmakers still doubted. Now the leadership of the Oversight Committee is asking Mylan to clear things up for everyone by turning over documents that actually show how much the company makes from EpiPen. [More]
Senators Ask DOJ To Investigate Mylan Over Possible EpiPen Medicaid Fraud
By 9.28.16
EpiPen maker Mylan might have thought that dealing with the public shaming of a congressional hearing would be the low point of its ongoing price-hike scandal, but lawmakers continue to scrutinize the drug company and are now calling for a federal investigation into the possibility that Mylan was deliberately mis-categorizing the emergency allergy medication in order to reap bigger payments from Medicaid. [More]
Mylan’s Capitol Hill Critics Still Don’t Believe Company Only Makes $80 Profit Per EpiPen
By 9.27.16
Last week, when Mylan CEO Heather Bresch told a congressional panel that her company only makes $50 profit per EpiPen — the emergency allergy treatment that has risen in price by 600% in recent years — lawmakers found that hard to believe. And now that Mylan has revised that profit figure to $80 per EpiPen, the company’s critics are only getting louder. [More]
Mylan: Oh, Actually, We Make $80 Profit On Each EpiPen Before Taxes
By 9.26.16
Last week, when the CEO of drugmaker Mylan was testifying before Congress, Rep. Jason Chafee of Utah spoke for the American people when he wondered whether the company actually earns only $52 profit per pen when the retail list price is $608 each. The company has now clarified its answer: that $104 per two-pack figure is Mylan’s profit after taxes. Before taxes, the profit is $88 per pen, or $166 per two-pack. [More]
Parents Of Kids With Allergies Now Question Their Advocacy Of EpiPen Programs
By 9.23.16
Requiring epinephrine auto-injectors to be available in schools in case a child has a life-threatening allergic reaction isn’t necessarily a bad idea. Under some circumstances, it’s a life-saving one. However, EpiPen maker Mylan recruited mothers of children with food allergies as ambassadors for its own interests a few years ago while continuing to hike the price of EpiPens, hurting the very same community of families. Now the bloggers question their participation in Mylan’s “summits” and their blogging for the cause. [More]
Congressman: “Hard To Believe” Mylan Only Makes $50 Profit On Each EpiPen
By 9.21.16
Drugmaker Mylan has come under fire in recent months over questions about the cost of the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, which has jumped in price by around 600% since 2009. In testimony before Congress this afternoon, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch defended the price hikes and claimed that her company ultimately only sees about one-sixth of the retail price for EpiPens. [More]
West Virginia Investigating EpiPen Maker Mylan For Alleged Medicaid Fraud, Antitrust Violations
By 9.20.16
On the eve of a Congressional hearing on the soaring price and lack of competition for the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, the attorney general for West Virginia has confirmed his office is investigating EpiPen maker Mylan for allegations of antitrust violations and Medicaid fraud. [More]
CEO Of EpiPen Maker Mylan To Face Congressional Hearing Next Week
By 9.14.16
In recent weeks, members of both the House and Senate have raised questions about the soaring price of — and potential antitrust concerns surrounding — emergency allergy treatment EpiPen. A congressional committee confirmed this morning that it will soon hold a hearing on the issue, and that Heather Bresch, CEO of EpiPen maker Mylan, has been called to testify. [More]
Teva Will Try Again To Get FDA Approval On Epipen Competitor, By 2018
By 9.12.16
The price of the EpiPen emergency allergy medication soared by 400% to 600% over the last decade, in part due to a lack of competition. In February, the FDA rejected a potential competing injector from Teva Pharmaceuticals, but now the company says it still hopes to get an EpiPen alternative in pharmacies — at some point in the next two years. [More]
EMTs Save Lives And Money By Carrying $20 Alternative To EpiPen
By 9.7.16
While the soaring cost of the EpiPen has been making headlines for the last few weeks, dealing with that cost has been a problem for emergency medical services, which have to be ready to save the lives of patients having severe allergic reactions. Keeping every ambulance equipped with the kits is an expensive proposition, though, and one local government found a solution three years ago that it shares with colleagues across the country. [More]
New York Launches Antitrust Investigation Into EpiPen Schools Program
By 9.6.16
Amid calls for drugmaker Mylan to drop the price of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen, the attorney general for the state of New York has launched an antitrust investigation into a program that helps to put EpiPens in schools, potentially to the detriment of competition. At the same time, U.S. lawmakers are pushing regulators for a federal antitrust probe on the program. [More]
Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Order Your EpiPens From Canada
By 9.1.16
One solution that some families have used in response to the soaring cost of Mylan’s EpiPen, an essential product for people with life-threatening allergies, is to order the product from a cheaper pharmacy in Canada instead. While this might appear to be a solid plan, the problem is that “Canadian” pharmacies aren’t always necessarily what they claim to be online. [More]
Senator: EpiPen Generic Announcement “Raises As Many Questions As Solutions”
By 8.29.16
This morning, drug company Mylan announced that it will soon introduce a lower-cost (but still not cheap) generic version of its popular EpiPen emergency allergy treatment. In response, one senator who has been critical of Mylan’s actions says more must be done to make the life-saving drug available. [More]
Mylan To Sell Generic EpiPen Pack… For Only $300
By 8.29.16
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. [More]
Pediatricians Call On Mylan To Make EpiPens More Affordable
By 8.26.16
Following reports on the skyrocketing cost of the EpiPen emergency allergy treatment, drugmaker Mylan has been heavily criticized for putting profit over patients. Even the recent expansion of its savings card program has been slammed as being more beneficial to Mylan than it is for consumers. Now, the nation’s largest group of pediatricians are calling on the company to rethink its pricing of the drug. [More]
Regardless Of Price, Don’t Buy Your EpiPen On eBay
By 8.26.16
With the price of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen jumping nearly 600% in less than a decade, bringing the out-of-pocket cost for some patients to $600 for a two-pack, it’s perhaps not surprising that sketchy eBay sellers are claiming to offer the prescription medication at a discount, even though it’s against eBay policy, illegal, and just a really, really, really awful idea. [More]
Under Fire Over EpiPen Price Hike, Mylan Expands Savings Card Program
By 8.25.16
After receiving intense backlash from consumers, lawmakers, and health advocates over the skyrocketing price of emergency allergy treatment EpiPen — the costs increased as much as 600% in just nine years — pharmaceutical giant Mylan plans to cover some of that cost for certain patients. [More]
