US: Mylan says it will lower the cost of product

Mylan announced a series of steps Thursday it says will make its EpiPen more affordable for some patients.

The drugmaker is caught at the center of a firestorm over the rising price of prescription drugs. Mylan had raised a standard two-pack of EpiPens to about $600 over the past several years. It had cost $100 in 2009.

Following a recent uproar, including a public tongue-lashing from Hillary Clinton and a senator whose daughter uses the product, Mylan NV (MYL) said Wednesday it would help reduce the cost of the emergency allergy drug for people who are struggling to afford it.

In a press release, Mylan said it would provide instant savings cards worth $300 to patients who have to pay full price for the drug out of pocket. That amounts to about a 50% price cut for people without insurance or for patients with high deductible plans.

“We responded this morning, first and foremost, ensuring that everybody that needs an EpiPen has an EpiPen,” Mylan CEO Heather Bresch said in an interview with CNBC. “As a mother I can assure you that the last thing we could ever want is no one to have their EpiPen due to price.”

When asked why the price of EpiPen increased so dramatically over the years, Bresch, who is the daughter of Senator Joe Manchin of Virginia, blamed “the system” which needs to be “fixed.”

She said that with the savings card, “We went around the system. The savings card is equivalent to cash.”

Full Content: CNN

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