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Summary: The CEO responsible for the manufacturing and overwhelming steep increase in cost of EpiPens is the daughter of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
The daughter of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, Democrat for West Virginia, is responsible for the hike in price for the life-saving EpiPens. His daughter Heather Bresch is the CEO of Mylan, a pharmaceutical company that produces EpiPens, an allergy injection pen.
Nine years ago people could purchase the two-dose package for about $94. Since May, the cost is over six times that cost to be over $600 for the two-pack. The greatest increases in the drug have occurred in the last three years – from $265 to $609.
Read Wild Drug Price Hike Spurns Strong Reaction from Hillary Clinton.
This sudden cost has several senators requesting more information and for congressional hearings and investigations to take place. Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota are asking for the Federal Trade Commission to determine if the pharmaceutical company has violated antitrust laws.
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Mylan claims the increase is due to health insurance changes with higher deductibles. They state that most people have insurance to cover the cost and for those that don’t they offer a coupon to help cover the cost of co-payments.
See Retaliation Lawsuit Brought Against Mylan Pharmaceuticals by Ex-Employee.
The truth is that a 2012 lawsuit has required the release of a generic EpiPen into the market. Once the lawsuit was settled, Mylan jumped the price of injection pen up quickly. As many point out, Mylan has done nothing different than most drug companies do when a generic drug is about to be released. Companies attempt to suck as much profit as they can from the name-brand version before the generic is available.
A big problem is that the generic options have been rejected so there is no competition for the EpiPens yet. Mylan has a monopoly on the market and making a huge profit because of it.
Do you think companies should be allowed to raise the cost of drugs without justification of cost-of-living increases, shortage of supplies, etc.” Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about another CEO that raised the cost of drugs, read Much Hated Pharmaceutical Exec Arrested on Fraud Charges.
Photo: money.cnn.com
