The White House on Wednesday said pharmaceutical firms risked damaging their reputations with big price hikes, but it sidestepped commenting directly on Mylan NV’s decision to raise the price of its severe allergy treatment drug EpiPen.
“I’m obviously not going to make specific comments to specifically second guess the pricing strategy … of one private enterprise,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said at a news briefing.
EpiPens can be the difference between life and death. There’s no justification for these price hikes. https://t.co/O6RbVR6Qim -H
—
@HillaryClinton
“I will observe, however, that pharmaceutical companies that often try to portray themselves as the inventors of life-saving medication often do real damage to their reputation by being greedy and jacking up prices,” he said.
Epinephrine auto-injectors such as EpiPen are used as an emergency treatment by people who have a history of serious allergic reactions, called anaphylaxis, or who are at risk because of allergies to foods, insect bites and stings or medicines.
If someone experiences anaphylactic shock, symptoms can include wheezing, hives and skin swelling to rapid heartbeat, trouble breathing and convulsions. Without treatment, it can be deadly.
Earlier today, the American Medical Association and U.S. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton urged Mylan to rein in what the AMA called the “exorbitant cost” of EpiPens.
“Although the product is unchanged since 2009, the cost has skyrocketed by more than 400 per cent during that period,” the association said in a release.
Pfizer Canada distributes EpiPens through a licence from Mylan, which owns the brand.
A spokesperson for Pfizer Canada said the price has not changed and there are no plans to do so.
In Canada, the price has been consistent because prices are regulated by the Patent Medicine Prices Review Board.
In an emergency, the syringe is jabbed against the thigh. The needle inside injects the epinephrine into muscle tissue.
Back to school season is a good time to check the expiry dates on epinephrine injectors, said Beatrice Povolo, director of advocacy and media relations for Food Allergy Canada. Schools often ask students with severe allergies to bring an auto-injector to school and sometimes ask for a backup device to deliver the life-saving medication.
The devices last about 12 to 18 months.
“We feel that everyone should have access to life-saving medication and that cost shouldn’t be a barrier. Thankfully we’re not seeing the same issues here as we are in the U.S.,” Povolo said.
In the U.S. in 2007, when Mylan took over rights to EpiPen, a pair of syringes cost $93.88 US. The price of a pack of two is now about $600, according to Elsevier’s Gold Standard Drug Database.
Former head of Turing Pharmaceuticals, Martin Shkreli, charged last year for his 5,000 per cent price hike of a medication to fight malaria and HIV, defended Mylan.
“That’s up to insurance to pay for them,” Shkreli told CBS News. “Like I said, it’s $300 a pen. Three hundred dollars. My iPhone’s $700.”
In a previous statement, Mylan said the EpiPen’s price “has changed over time to better reflect important product features and the value the product provides.”