Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Mylan To Bring Generic EpiPen To Market; Critics Say Move Is A Smokescreen
The New York Times: Mylan Tries Again To Quell Pricing Outrage By Offering Generic EpiPen
In its latest move to quell outrage over its price increases, the maker of the EpiPen has resorted to an unusual tactic — introducing a generic version of its own product. The company, Mylan, said on Monday that the generic EpiPen would be identical to the existing product, which is used to treat severe allergic reactions. But it will have a wholesale list price of $300 for a pack of two, half the price of the brand-name EpiPen. (Pollack, 8/29)
The Washington Post: Mylan To Introduce A Half-Price Generic Version Of EpiPen
Joshua Sharfstein, a professor of health policy and management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, called it a face-saving move by the company. The generic offers a way of dropping the price of one version of the drug, while also bringing the company some benefits. It will allow Mylan to segment the market, because some people will continue to buy the brand-name product. (Johnson, 8/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Mylan To Launch Cheaper Generic EpiPen Alternative
The EpiPen price increases exploded over social media and on Capitol Hill, in part, because many children depend on the drug-injection device to reverse severe allergic reactions. Most consumers pay less than $100 out-of-pocket for EpiPen, according to Mylan. But a sizable minority are covered by high-deductible health-plans that require buyers to pay a much larger share of the drug’s full list price. (Walker, Winslow and Steele, 8/29)
NPR: Maker Of EpiPen To Sell Generic Version For Half The Price
Mylan CEO Heather Bresch has spent the past week trying to shift blame for the increased cost of the product away from Mylan and onto insurance companies. The company argued that more people have high-deductible health plans and high copayments on medications now, so they are feeling the pain of price hikes more than they would have in the past. She repeated that Monday in a statement posted on the company's website. (Kodjak, 8/29)
CNN Money: Generic EpiPen At $300 Coming Soon, As Mylan Responds To Outrage
The company didn't say why consumers would buy the more expensive branded version, but responded with a statement. "Mylan will continue to offer both -- generic and brand -- options for patients so that they can work with their healthcare provider to determine the best option for them," the company said. (Egan, 8/29)
Dallas Morning News: Drugmaker Mylan To Offer Cheaper Generic For EpiPens, But Texas Families Remain Concerned
Families around Texas that rely on the epinephrine auto-injectors to treat life-threatening allergic reactions responded to the introduction of a new generic with muted approval. Many parents continue to hold a cynical view of Mylan’s changes, grateful for some relief but disappointed that it took a national media firestorm to cause it. “They’re doing that to help their company’s reputation, but it’s something that they should have done before,” said Maria Zhosar, a Dallas mother whose 8-year-old son Owen has severe peanut and tree nut allergies. (Lovegrove, 8/29)
St. Louis Post Dispatch: St. Louis Area Manufacturer Of EpiPens To Produce Mylan's New Generic Version
Drugmaker Mylan NV will produce a generic version of the EpiPen after receiving unrelenting criticism over its high prices for the life-saving drug that stops allergic reactions. The company said Monday the generic version would result in cost savings of up to 50 percent, or a list price of $300 as opposed to the $600 price that caused a backlash from consumers, including parents who must buy the injectable drug for their school-age children. The money-saving generic version will be produced in the same St. Louis area facilities where the EpiPen is made. (Liss, 8/30)
PBS NewsHour: Did Outcry On Social Media Lead To Mylan’s Generic EpiPen?
After news broke that the price of EpiPen injectors has skyrocketed, the allergy medicine’s maker, Mylan, announced its intention to offer a generic version of the product, to be sold at half the market price of the original. The New York Times’ Andrew Pollack and the University of Minnesota's Stephen Schondelmeyer talk with Gwen Ifill about the role public outcry played in the company's decision. (Pollack,Schondelmeyer and Ifill, 8/29)
Politico Pro: Mylan Generic Offer May Be A Drug Industry Trick, Critics Say
Mylan’s decision to market an authorized generic as a cheaper alternative to its branded EpiPen is yet another smokescreen to disguise the company’s drug pricing practices, which take advantage of inefficiencies and tricks built into the U.S. drug market, say critics. ... Today, the company said it would also produce an authorized generic version for sale at $300. That’s still three times the drug’s 2007 price, and some say the action will undercut efforts to get competing generics on the market. The drug in EpiPens, epinephrine, was first produced in 1904 and costs less than $1 per dose in most countries. (Karlin-Smith, 8/29)
CNBC: Generic EpiPen Drug Could Actually Make More Money For Mylan
Mylan's unusual decision to introduce an identical, generic EpiPen competitor follows a week of pressure to lower the price of its lifesaving allergy drug — but some are now questioning whether the move, designed to appear as a price-lowering measure, may in fact net Mylan more revenue than the original version. The generic version of EpiPen will have a list price of $300 for a two-pack, about half that of the branded EpiPen, Mylan said Monday. ... Out of the $608 list price, it said it nets just $274 per EpiPen 2-Pak, after rebates to pharmacy benefits managers and cuts taken by others in the chain, such as distributors and pharmacies. So if the generic has a list price of $300, and Mylan doesn't need pay out as much to the rest of the supply chain, what will the net price be of generic EpiPen? (Tirrell, 8/29)
The Wall Street Journal: Mylan’s New Generic Causes Stock Market Ripple
Mylan isn’t the only company riding the EpiPen roller coaster of late. The pharmaceutical company announced Monday that it plans to sell a generic version of EpiPen, its best-selling product. This news came after a national uproar over the drug’s high price. Generic EpiPen will cost $300 for a pack of two, a more than 50% cut to the sticker price of the branded version, and will be available in the next several weeks. That news, however, caused a sharp selloff in the shares of Adamis Pharmaceuticals, a small drug company aiming to develop its own generic version of EpiPen. (Grant, 8/29)
CBS News: Cheaper "Do-It-Yourself" Alternative EpiPen May Carry More Risks For Allergy Sufferers
Many allergy sufferers have been in a panic over the skyrocketing cost of EpiPens, used to reverse potentially life-threatening reactions to peanuts, bee stings, and other allergens. A much cheaper do-it-yourself alternative exists, but some emergency doctors say that the affordable option carries a number of serious risks. (Marcus, 8/29)
Meanwhile, a House committee is launching an investigation of the company —
Morning Consult: House Oversight Committee Is Investigating Mylan
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is investigating Mylan, the pharmaceutical company under fire after raising the price of EpiPens more than 400 percent since 2007. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) wrote to Mylan CEO Heather Bresch on Monday, asking for a several documents and a briefing by the end of next Tuesday to help the committee “better understand the increasing cost of EpiPen.” (McIntire, 8/29)
Reuters: House Committee Requests EpiPen Documents From Mylan
U.S. representatives Jason Chaffetz and Elijah Cummings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform sent a letter to Mylan NV Chief Executive Heather Bresch on Monday asking for documents and communications related to the fast-increasing price of allergy auto-injector EpiPens. (Bengaluru, 8/29)
