In a continuation of its response to widespread criticism, pharmaceutical company Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) announced Monday that it will launch a generic version of the EpiPen at a 50% discount to the standard version of its popular allergy medication.
The unexpected move comes just days after Mylan announced that it will take several steps to make EpiPens more affordable after a number of healthcare reform advocates, including Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, directed criticism towards the company last week.
Clinton and others used the EpiPen as an example of the oftentimes absurd pricing strategies that have become commonplace in today’s pharmaceutical industry. Over the past several years, Mylan has raised the price of a standard two-pack of EpiPens by more than 400%, and the life-saving medication now has a sticker price of $608.
Mylan said it plans to launch its generic version of the EpiPen within the next several weeks. The non-branded version will cost $300 per two-pack.
Last Thursday, Mylan announced that it will provide an instant savings card worth $300 to any patient that currently pays full price for the EpiPen out of pocket. This would represent savings of about 50%, or about the same as the generic price, for patients without insurance or for those with high deductible plans.
Mylan also announced that it is doubling the eligibility for patient assistance to 400% of the federal poverty level. This means that a family of four making up to $97,200 would be eligible to pay effectively nothing for an EpiPen.
Mylan did not announce what, if any, discounts it will offer for the generic version of the drug, and it’s still unclear why patients would choose to use the branded version if the generic version is the exact same medication, as Mylan claims.
In a press release announcing the new generic EpiPen, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch detailed the effectiveness of generic alternatives and claimed that the “complexity and opaqueness of today’s branded pharmaceutical supply chain” led the company to bypass the brand system and offer an alternative.
“Generic drugs have a long, proven track record of delivering significant savings to both patients and the overall healthcare system,” Bresch said. “The launch of a generic EpiPen®, which follows the steps we took last week on the brand to immediately reduce patients' out-of-pocket costs, will offer a long-term solution to further reduce costs and ease the burden and complexity of the process on the patient.”
While Mylan’s recent efforts to respond to criticism may reek like a desperate PR move to some investors, they might just be exactly what the company needed to do, and if these new options make EpiPens more accessible to the patients that need them, it could be a win-win.
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