EpiPen’s Soaring Price Tag Leads To More Debate, Discussion Of U.S. Drug Costs
A Sonoma Country family feels the pinch of the high price of this emergency allergy medicine. Meanwhile, news outlets explore recent developments such as the response by Mylan, the company that markets the EpiPen, as well as positions being taken by lawmakers, parents, public figures and even Mylan's CEO.
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
EpiPen Cost Increase Hits Home In Sonoma County
[Liz] Liddiard-Griffin had become accustomed to stocking three injectors: One for her, one for her son and one for the office at her son’s school. So the prospect of paying hundreds more dollars than she had ever paid for EpiPens before irritated and frustrated her. “I was like, ‘Why? What’s going on?’ Obviously, I couldn’t say no,” she recalled in an interview this week. In the end, Liddiard-Griffin had little choice but to pay full price for the device, which is used to quickly inject a dose of epinephrine, a hormone that can counter life-threatening allergic reactions. She had to pay out of pocket because she had not yet reached her family’s $1,500 deductible. (Morris, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
Why Mylan’s ‘Savings Card’ Won’t Make EpiPen Cheaper For All Patients
Although the company said that the savings card would halve the cost of the drug to commercially insured patients who pay full price, outside experts said the overall impact will likely be small and that it did not amount to a solution to the broader problem. Such savings cards are a classic public relations move by the pharmaceutical industry, said Harvard Medical School professor Aaron Kesselheim, and it will only be used by a fraction of the people who need the drug. For example, such savings cards are illegal in government health programs such as Medicaid. (Johnson, 8/25)
The Washington Post:
How Mylan, The Maker Of EpiPen, Became A Virtual Monopoly
EpiPen’s rising price is particularly notable because state and federal legislation have been key to the drug’s rapid growth. Annual prescriptions for EpiPen products have more than doubled in the past decade to 3.6 million, according to IMS Health data. Mylan benefited from factors including failed competitors, patent protections and laws requiring allergy medications in schools. Having a virtual monopoly has facilitated the rapid price hike. Mylan reached $1 billion in sales for the second time last year. (Johnson and Ho, 8/25)
The New York Times:
Painted As EpiPen Villain, Mylan’s Chief Says She’s No Such Thing
America has a new pharmaceutical villain. Her name is Heather Bresch. As the chief executive of Mylan, the owner of the severe allergy treatment EpiPen, Ms. Bresch is at the center of the latest public outrage over high drug prices, excoriated for overseeing a fourfold price increase on EpiPen while taking a huge pay raise. (Thomas, 8/26)
Politico:
Manchin Shares 'Concerns' On Drug Prices Amid Daughter's Company Controversy
Sen. Joe Manchin said Thursday that he shares the concerns his colleagues have voiced about how a pharmaceutical company run by his daughter prices a life-saving medicine it produces. The West Virginia Democrat’s daughter is Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, the company that makes the EpiPen, a product that delivers the life-saving drug epinephrine for people with allergies to bee stings or certain foods. Mylan has come under fire in recent days for raising the price of the EpiPen by 548 percent since it acquired the rights to the product in 2007. (Nelson, 8/25)
Stat:
Senators Want To Know What FDA Is Doing To Make EpiPen Rivals Available
While anger is directed at Mylan Pharmaceuticals over the rising cost of its EpiPen device, some lawmakers wonder whether the US Food and Drug Administration should share some of the blame for the high prices paid by consumers. How so? They want to know if the agency made it possible for Mylan to dominate the market and charge whatever price it wants. (Silverman, 8/25)
USA Today:
Why Not Reuse EpiPens With New Epinephrine After They Expire?
The controversy surrounding skyrocketing prices over the EpiPen emergency allergy shots has nothing to do with what's in the devices. That's the 100-year-old chemical epinephrine, which costs just pennies. It's the device that Mylan is charging so much for. So why not replace cartridges of epinephrine that have expired with new ones? (O'Donnell, 8/25)
The New York Times:
How Parents Harnessed The Power Of Social Media To Challenge EpiPen Prices
[Mellini Kantayya] went online to Petition2Congress.com, a service that collects signatures and then sends them to designated lawmakers, and created the petition “Stop the EpiPen Price Gouging,” which went live on July 11. Then Ms. Kantayya shared the link with her 836 Facebook friends, with a post that began, “Stupid pharmaceutical company!” What happened next is a lesson in the power of social media to help create a groundswell, particularly among a group as committed and motivated as the parents of children with food allergies, who must often buy multiple pens for home, school and day care. In just 45 days, Ms. Kantayya’s petition grew from a few dozen signatures to more than 80,000 people who sent more than 121,000 letters to Congress. (Parker-Pope, 8/25)
Stat:
Sarah Jessica Parker, Angry At EpiPen Price, Drops Mylan Sponsorship
Under fire for aggressively hiking the price of the EpiPen device, Mylan Pharmaceuticals has now lost an influential advocate: Sarah Jessica Parker. The actress said on her verified Instagram account Thursday that she has ended her relationship as a paid spokeswoman for the drug maker “as a direct result” of the price increases. Parker wrote that she is “disappointed, saddened and deeply concerned by Mylan’s actions” and called on the company to “take swift action to lower the cost to be more affordable for whom it is a life-saving necessity.” (Robbins, 8/25)