The Is An Epinephrine Auto Injector

The current debate over the Mylan Company’s near monopoly of the epinephrine market through its EpiPen shows what can happen without monopoly regulation. While the cost to produce an Epipen is around $30, the price to the consumer is around $300 each. The economic implications for a family that needs to keep the device on hand to save a life can be excessively high, the emotional results of not having one when you need one are debilitating. This monopoly is further enhanced by state-enforced regulations requiring that schools keep EpiPens in stock and the, so-called, EpiPen law enacted in 2013, which leave little incentive for other pharmaceutical companies to develop their own technology for fast-acting emergency devices. (Bartolone, 2016) Breaking Mylan’s monopoly will not only lead to new product development but lower prices for consumers for a life-saving delivery

The journalist Nadia Kounang further explains the differences between what the U.S pays on drugs and other similar developed countries, in the article Why pharmaceuticals are cheaper abroad. Kounang displays how much American need to pay for Gleevec (cancer medication) which is $6,214 (per month/per customer) whereas in Canada patients only have to pay $1,141 and in the U.K $2,697 (Kounang 1). These prices are the result of different organizations setting different price ranges with drug companies (U.S.A), and these enables American insurance companies to take advantage of it (Kounang 1). While in other countries there are not as many organizations, so this helps to set a deal of a price that benefit both the drug company and consumers (Kounang). Strictly speaking, by having these different medical insurance companies it has made it difficult for patients to afford their medication because there is no singular organization that can set drug price ranges with pharmaceuticals, while in other countries they don’t a variety of different medical insurances which enables the country to provide treatments that its citizens can afford. Thereby, if the government does not fully cooperates with other medical insurances, lowering the cost of medication will be difficult without affecting research and development. And as a result people who can not afford them will still struggle to obtain their required prescriptions.

In the article “Mylan Faces Scrutiny Over Epipen Increases,” by Jonathan D. Rockoff, the product of EpiPen is discussed, along with Mylan’s incentive to increase price, and the public and governmental backlash to this price increase. EpiPen is a lifesaving, emergency, allergy treatment that keeps those who have extreme allergic reactions from going into severe shock. It is used by millions of people, including many schoolchildren. A pack of two costs $608.61, which is up 548% since 2007, as the product has had 17 price increases over the years, according to Truven Health Analytics. Over 3.6 million prescriptions for the product were written last year, according to IMS Health.

Government is known to utilize a product's elasticity measures to set taxes and subsidies for products goods and services. With medical products there will always be a demand because the money isn’t in the cure it’s in the medicine. When I first started looking at this assignment I immediately began to think about the recent EpiPen controversy. More than 100 years ago, Parke-Davis — one of the largest pharmaceutical companies at the time — started marketing Epinephrine under the brand name Adrenalin. The development of the auto-injector in the 1970s with a predetermined dose was a breakthrough because epinephrine must be delivered quickly, and in the proper amounts to work. People suffering severe allergic reactions often treat themselves.

Recently, there had been a controversy over the rise in pharmaceutical costs involving the EpiPen in the United States. The EpiPen, also known as adrenaline/epinephrine, is a widely used injection that is used to treat allergic reactions. This generic drug has been available for many years. The EpiPen controversy is a prime example of how monopoly

Marketing and priorities of the pharmaceutical industry have been a dilemma for years. Scare- mongering has been increased on the importance of drugs (Shah, 2010). For example, executives at Mylan, a pharmaceutical company that owns Epipen, reportedly reaped in nearly three hundred million in compensation from 2011 to 2015 (Tuttle, 2016). Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, was accused of jacking up the price by 600%; her response was to blame the “broken health system”, Obamacare, and the rise of high- deductible health insurance plan. But should this be the case to do these to millions of families who can barely afford something that take thirty dollars to make and jack the price up to seven hundred dollars? We live in a greedy nation that is only there to take from one another. When people see this you can only think of how the pharmaceuticals being an “industry” it basically prioritizes that revenue comes before the needs and cures to the human society.

For almost a year now, prescription drugs continue to be one the pressing issues in healthcare reform. Drug pricing specifically, has made its way center stage as a result of numerous revenue-lifting actions from pharmaceutical companies, the most recent case being the arrest of Turing Pharmaceuticals’ CEO, Martin Shkreli. Shkreli was arrested on federal fraud charges a week before Christmas, but his infamy stems from his company’s price jack of Daraprim, an anti-parasite drug that is pivotal in the treatment of cancer and HIV patients. In at least 14 states, legislators have introduced “drug pricing transparency” bills, which have been designed to gather information from pharmaceutical companies about the cost to manufacture drugs.

"From 2011 through 2015, total Medicaid spending on EpiPen was $960 million, increasing from $66 million in 2011 to $365 million in 2015. After rebates, net Medicaid spending over this five-year period was approximately $797 million..."

The EpiPen is only one out of numerous lifesaving medications that pharmaceutical companies have increased the price to an amount that the average consumer cannot afford. As both a concerned constituent and a health care provider, I would never want people to have a lack of access to medications that could potentially save or improve their quality of life for any reason. It is now imperative that the government on all levels demand transparency in the cost to create and manufacture medications and also enforce drug price controls. Senator McEachin, this is why I want you to co-sponsor and support Senator Emmett Hanger’s prescription drug price transparency bill (SB487). This bill will require drug manufacturers to give information on the cost of research and development, manufacturing, marketing, price changes, and profits for each prescription drug sold in the Commonwealth of Virginia for a wholesale cost of $10,000 for a single treatment course (SB487: Prescription drug price, n.d.; Silverman, 2016).

According to Mark Baum, “The cost of epinephrine is literally less than a Big Mac of EpiPens ingredient. The auto injector is available between $3 and $7” (Egan). The history of the EpiPen provides background for reasonable prices and accessibility. CEO of Mylan Pharmaceutical Company raises prices too high for average consumer. Price hike is unethical because it endangers life of those who can’t afford it puts pharmacists profit above value of life. The Mylan Pharmaceutical Company is being unethical in its outrageous price increase of the EpiPen, making it almost impossible for the average consumer to purchase.

Acquiring or being born with a life-threatening disease is a very expensive experience in the United States. Notably, prices of some of the most popular drugs, like Mylan EpiPens have increased drastically over the last couple years. This can make it extremely difficult for poorer individuals to buy expensive medication, especially if they are not on an already overpriced health insurance plan. The article “Don’t Only Blame Mylan for $600 EpiPens” written by Ezekiel J. Emanuel on September 8, 2016 and published by Fortune Insiders analyzes the recurring high drug prices gouging sick individuals in the United States. Poor competition, patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and lengthy drug approval processes are leading

Physicians ought to have a one of a kind and capable gatekeeping in the field of healthcare. There is no doubt, value matters, and as strategy makers realize that costs affect healthcare, American drugs must shift to consolidate tolerant cost worries into the standard of care. Such a move gives suppliers imperative use against, and a barrier to, the hurtful costs of pharmaceutical drugs (Buck, 2017).

However, I feel it is time for the U.S. government to regulate the cost of pharmaceuticals and medical care, possibly by utilizing diagnosis-related groups across all medical services and products. I feel to have a fair and equitable healthcare system everyone should have access to

It’s not a secret that the American healthcare system is broken with its inadequacies and shortcomings. One of these being the upward rise of drug and medication costs. The cost of prescriptions, drugs and medical treatments is soring out of control and needs to be ceased before it’s to late. Two aspirations for hoping to mend this unsettling issue is by tiered copays and getting prior authorizations for specificity drugs over lower cost effective generic drugs and by controlling the cap on drug prices. The most effective of the two possibilities could be argued by the responsibilities of the federal is determined by long term and short term goals, at this time ensuring individuals are aware of costs is most desirable for the majority of society.

For Mylan, their stakeholders can include patients, insurance companies, pharmacies, families, and schools. Patients are affected because they are the ones that need the EpiPens the most and, if they do not have one, they could be rushed to the hospital. Insurance companies are invested in this situation as well because they are responsible for helping families pay for their drugs and treatments; they will have to pay more due to the increase in price. Pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens are also at a disadvantage because less people would be buying EpiPens, resulting in a profit loss for the pharmacies. In addition, families who are obviously concerned about their children and the family's finances may not be able afford the medication