The EpiPen ripoff

The EpiPen is an injection device that comes pre-loaded with epinephrine (adrenaline). It’s used as an emergency treatment for severe allergies. People with severe allergies keep them on hand—as do schools and camps. They need to be replaced every year.

Here’s why the EpiPen is a ripoff: 

• In 2004, an EpiPen cost $50 (pack of two).
• The pharmaceutical company Mylan acquired the EpiPen in 2007 and began raising prices.
• Now Mylan is charging $600 (pack of two).
• The drug itself, costs just $1.00.
• Mylan holds the patent for the auto-injector.
• Mylan has a monopoly on the market; two competitors have dropped out.
• Mylan has moved their headquarters to the Netherlands to reduce taxes.
• The chief executive “earned” $19 million in 2015.

$600 for this?

 In response to the outcry, Mylan says it will offer a “generic” version for $300. What? A generic injector? They’re old injector model? The medicine itself will not change. Makes no sense to me.

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