Very Public EpiPen Pricing Brawl Offers Case Studies In Social Media, P.R. Crisis Management
Parents used social media to challenge Mylan's price hikes while the company's CEO is responding with a message that their anger should be focused on the nation's broken health system. Meanwhile, the topic is getting play on the presidential campaign trail and from congressional lawmakers. Even actress Sarah Jessica Parker has jumped into the fray, announcing that she will end her association with Mylan.
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)
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)
CNN Money:
EpiPen CEO: Blame The 'Broken' System, Not Me
Heather Bresch, the Mylan CEO under fire for skyrocketing EpiPen costs, believes Americans should redirect their anger toward a "broken" health care system. Mylan (MYL) was forced to respond to the national outrage over a more than 400% increase in price for the lifesaving allergy treatment by pledging on Thursday to make it more affordable. But Bresch argued that a lack of transparency in the complex health care system -- with bigger cuts for everyone along the supply chain -- "incentivizes higher prices" in the industry. She pointed out that copays and deductibles are on the rise, too. (Egan, 8/25)
Bloomberg:
Lawmakers Blast Mylan’s Move To Curb EpiPen Costs As PR Fix
In response to intense criticism over the past few days, Mylan acted Thursday to expand assistance programs that help patients with high out-of-pocket expenses -- but didn’t go as far as cutting the treatment’s list price. Health insurers and U.S. lawmakers, along with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, criticized the effort as an attempt to cover a 400 percent price hike that won’t make the drug more affordable. Mylan has been under fire for increasing the price to about $600 for a two-pack from $57 for a single pen in 2007. (Koons and Edney, 8/25)
Stat:
5 Questions About EpiPen Pricing That The Mylan CEO Has Yet To Answer
Amid a chorus of criticism over the rising cost of EpiPens — a furor that has sent her company’s stock down more than 10 percent — Mylan CEO Heather Bresch went on CNBC on Thursday to manage a crisis. But her appearance may have raised more questions than it answered. Mylan is not lowering the price of EpiPen, though it is expanding a program to help patients with the cost. Some of Bresch’s sharpest critics — including members of Congress and Hillary Clinton — have made clear that’s not enough. (Garde, 8/25)
Roll Call:
Democrats: EpiPen Cost Curbing Is PR Move, Not a Fix
Some Congressional Democrats are criticizing a pharmaceutical company's effort to curb the rising cost of a drug used to combat severe allergic reactions as a public relations move rather than a solution. ... “This step seems like a PR fix more than a real remedy, masking an exorbitant and callous price hike," Sen. Richard Blumenthal said in a statement. "This baby step should be followed by actual robust action." (Bowman, 8/25)
Roll Call:
EpiPen Crisis Hitting Senators Close To Home
The debate over the cost of EpiPens isn't just politics for some lawmakers. It's personal. Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia both have adult daughters who rely on the drug injector. Klobuchar's daughter, Abigail, 21, keeps one with her because of a nut allergy. A spokeswoman for Warner said the senator's youngest daughter, Eliza, 22, is so prone to allergic reactions that she actually needs to use EpiPens regularly — and the Warner family keeps them around the house. (Lesniewski, 8/26)
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)
