Pricing the Epi-Pen
Epi-Pen
"CEO of EpiPen Maker Mylan Sees 671% Compensation Increase in 8 Years" Bresch had just received inquiries from several U.S. senators demanding to know more about how pricing decisions were made. Shkreli defended Mylan's price increase for the EpiPen, arguing that as a generic drug maker, the company earned a relatively low 8.9% net profit, so it was not gouging consumers. $300 EpiPen as a good deal when compared to a $20,000 trip to the emergency room.5 Mylan acquired the EpiPen line of products, which had been available in the U.S. market for more than 25 years, from Merck in 2007. The number of patients using EpiPens had grown 67% over the past seven years, and EpiPen revenue had grown from $200 million to more than $1 billion.6 Over the past five years, Mylan increased the price of the EpiPen by more than three and a half times Adrenaline had been in use for decades and cost less than $1 per dose to produce. Manufacturing costs for the device were thought to be less than $1 too.8 Mylan did offer discounts to promote greater access to EpiPens by defraying costs for some consumers. The "My EpiPen Savings Card" provided up to $100 for each EpiPen two-pack carton refill (Figure 3). In a press release, the company stated that nearly 80% of commercially insured patients who used the savings card received an EpiPen for free in 2015.10 The EpiPen was no exception to this rule. Consumers could purchase a two-pack for the equivalent of $8513 in France and $13114 in Canada.
Epi-Pen Basics
An EpiPen was a medical device used to automatically inject a measured dose of adrenaline (epinephrine) through a spring-loaded needle It was commonly used to treat anaphylaxis, a potentially life- threatening allergic reaction that could occur quickly when a person was exposed to allergens. Common triggers of anaphylaxis included certain foods (e.g., nuts and shellfish), bee stings, latex, and pharmaceutical drugs, and reactions typically began within 5 to 30 minutes of exposure Most expensive Puerto rico Least expensive in India
Alternatives
Sanofi voluntarily withdrew that product from the market in 2015 because it was found to potentially deliver inaccurate dosages. The other similar product available in the United States, Adrenaclick, had only captured 7% of the market since its reintroduction in mid-
2013. While Adrenaclick was less expensive (Wal- Mart priced Adrenaclick for only $142),11 users were reluctant to switch products. 72% of Americans thought that the cost of pharmaceutical drugs was unreasonable, and that 74% of Americans thought that they paid higher prices than people in Canada, Mexico, and Western Europe for the same drug