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Sen. Blumenthal Calls Generic Version of EpiPen a Marketing Ploy

Phillip Bradshaw
/
Creative Commons

An offer by the maker of the lifesaving medical device EpiPen to make a lower-priced generic version was criticized by U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal as a marketing ploy. Mylan Pharmaceutical Company has hiked the price of EpiPen approximately 400 percent since 2009.

After coming under fire for the rising cost of the EpiPen, which injects epinephrine to treat life-threatening allergic reactions, Mylan announced it will make a generic version for about half the price of the brand. But Blumenthal is still calling for a federal investigation of the company. He said the drug maker has a monopoly, which they’ve abused.

"Some people think, with good reason, that Mylan is seeking to undercut or preemptively strike against generic competition by introducing its own generic version and that’s another reason that there should be an investigation," said Blumenthal.

Blumenthal, along with Sen. Chris Murphy and 18 other senators led by Elizabeth Warren expressed their concerns in a letter to Mylan’s CEO. They question the drug maker's decision to expand their patient assistance program, which they say will allow the company to sharply increase prices and pass the cost of the increases onto insurance companies and ultimately consumers.

Blumenthal said Mylan may be violating antitrust laws or the unfair trade practices act by inhibiting competition.

Meanwhile, MannKind Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company based in California with a manufacturing facility in Danbury, Connecticut, has been looking into developing an alternative to the EpiPen.

Lori Connecticut Public's Morning Edition host.

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