The Road Less Travelled: EpiPen’s Pricing Policy

Mylan’s EpiPen is used as a lifesaver to threatening allergic reactions. It mitigates or reverses allergic reactions including abrupt blocking of airways and swollen legs, chest or neck.  In late 2007, Mylan acquired the rights to sell EpiPen, an invention of the 1970s. Even its inventor Sheldon Kaplan did not know its real worth until Mylan hiked its price by 400% in 2016. The present cost of a two pen set has sky rocketed from $100 to $608, which is approximately a six fold increase in the price. This price hike is pushing patients backwards to conventional injections. Currently, around 63,000 people have signed a petition asking Congress to vet the rationality of the price hikes.

In order to combat the wide criticism, Mylan had decided to sell its generic version within a few weeks priced at $300 for a set of two generic pens. Also, it plans to offer $300 from $ 100 out of their pockets as copay schemes. Well, for this generic injection, $304 is it’s the real worth or not, we are yet to find out. The company has thus initiated a competition between its two soaring products. The winner is almost clear to all of us.