Mylan is facing a U.S. antitrust investigation to decipher whether or not the firm actively squelched competition for its EpiPen.
EpiPen, short for epinephrine injection, is a life-saving auto-injection device for those with serious allergies that cause anaphylactic shock. The user can self-administer the drug if a serious allergic reaction occurs.
Mylan made headlines in August 2016, when it was discovered that its CEO, Heather Bresch, daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin, raised the price of EpiPens 461 percent since acquiring the drug in 2007. When Mylan purchased rights to the device in 2007, the cost of the drug to consumers was just $56.64, according to CBS News. By 2015, Bresch had spiked the price to $317.82. The price of the epinephrine inside the EpiPen is $1.
In the first two years (2008 and 2009), Bresch raised the price 5 percent a year. At the end of 2009, she hiked the price 19 percent. For the next three years, she raised the price at a steady rate of 10 percent a year, reports CBS News. EpiPen profit margins were 55 percent in 2014, up substantially from 9 percent in 2009, according to Bloomberg. EpiPens now account for around 40 percent of Mylan’s operating profit.
The company received “an information request from the FTC months ago as part of a preliminary investigation,” a spokesperson for Mylan told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Any suggestions or implication that the firm took part in any measures to limit competition are, “without merit.” The firm also noted the EpiPen has always “been competitive,” with many “products competing on the market since we acquired EpiPen® Auto-Injector.”
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