The maker of EpiPens will make it easier to buy the auto injector, needed by people with severe allergic reactions. Mylan jacked up prices after the Food and Drug Administration rejected a generic, and the EpiPen’s sole major competitor was pulled from pharmacy shelves over reliability issues.
“The speculation is, they figured ‘look we’re about to lose our position in the market, let’s see how much money we can take out of it in the short run,'” said UW law professor Peter Carstensen.
Mylan moved quickly to lower prices for people struggling to afford the $600 dollar price tag. Carstensen said the monopoly is unlikely to last. “Whatever the sort run problems are, we should see more competition in this market – it looks awfully profitable.”
A two pack of EpiPens cost $100 dollars as recently as 2009. Carstensen said similar pricing situations will arise. “It’s something that the pharmaceutical community has figured out.”