Mylan CEO Blamed Obamacare for EpiPen Sticker Shock

[workinclasszero]

Mylan CEO Blamed Obamacare for EpiPen Sticker Shock
by Jen Wieczner @jenwieczner AUGUST 24, 2016, 7:06 PM EDT

CEO Heather Bresch had planned to hike the price further.


The price of the EpiPen has soared 500% since generic drug company Mylan bought the treatment nine years ago. Yet Mylan’s controversial CEO Heather Bresch says she and her company aren’t solely to blame for the fact that patients are paying more for the must-have allergy medication.

Another culprit, according to Bresch: President Obama.


http://fortune.com/2016/08/24/mylan-ceo-epipen-heather-bresch/?xid=gn_editorspicks&google_editors_picks=true

[Sherman A1]

1. Horse Hockey

it's all about profit and greed.

[Warpy]

2. It's about monopoly

The nearest competitors have flawed products that have come under FDA scrutiny. Epipen is now a monopoly so if you want to live, that's the one you have to buy.

The CEO is acting like any CEO who finds him/herself holding a monopoly--jack the price up until people scream, then back it off 10% so they think they're getting a bargain.

Don't expect help from the Clown Congress. They don't give a damn if you're dead. Their masters speak openly of culling the herd now that they don't need as many workers.

[workinclasszero]

5. Couldn't agree more with your take on this

The CEO is acting like any CEO who finds him/herself holding a monopoly--jack the price up until people scream, then back it off 10% so they think they're getting a bargain.

Don't expect help from the Clown Congress. They don't give a damn if you're dead.

Plus they and their families have free health care for life paid for by suckers like me that have serious medical conditions and can't afford to even go see a doctor!

[KittyWampus]

9. Can you cite something definitive re: competitors being flawed? Cause what I read yesterday

indicated the problem isn't with the alternative available, which is called "Adreniclick" it's with the prescribing doctors and dispensers not fully informing the consumers.

The issue seems to be the self-injectors are slightly different and people need to be educated. Also, pharmacists can't just substitute an "Adreniclick" for an EpiPen. The doctor needs to indicate which alternative should be dispensed and the pharmacist needs to make sure the consumer fully understands how to inject the Adreniclick.

Also, Epi-pen is now advertising, so people want it due to the implied superiority.

Everything I read indicates there is zero problem with the alternative.

…………………

If you carry an EpiPen in case of a deadly allergic reaction, you’ve probably noticed the price skyrocket over the last decade. The injectors now cost over $600 and still expire after a year, so it may be tempting to carry an expired EpiPen, or none at all. There’s an alternative, though: the Adrenaclick is a different device that delivers the same drug.

According to GoodRx, a two-pack of Adrenaclick injectors costs as little as $142 with a free coupon. That’s still not cheap, but it helps. The two devices work differently, though: for example, the Adrenaclick has two caps to remove, not one. Make sure you read the instructions.

Since the devices are different, your pharmacist can’t just substitute Adrenaclick if your prescription says EpiPen, so you’ll need to ask your doctor to prescribe the one you want. You should also verify that Adrenaclick is covered under your insurance. Call the number on the back of your insurance card, and they should be able to tell you.


…………………………………..

Ask Your Doctor for an Epinephrine Auto-Injector Prescription

In most states, to get the low-cost, EpiPen alternative, you can't use a prescription for "EpiPen" from your doctor. That's because pharmacists at your drugstore likely won't be able to automatically substitute the low-cost version if your prescription is written for EpiPen. Instead, ask your doctor to write a prescription for an "epinephrine auto-injector" or "generic Adrenaclick."

That’s what Adrienne Balkany of Austin, Texas, did after her out-of-pocket cost for EpiPen shot up to $400 two years ago. Balkany carries emergency epinephrine due to a severe allergy to bee stings. Seeking an alternative to EpiPen, she came across a mention of generic Adrenaclick online, and after finding that she'd only have a $60 co-pay after insurance, her doctor eventually switched her prescription to the generic. But doing so required some persistence on her part and several discussions with her doctor, says Balkany. “The hardest part of switching was convincing my doctor to write the prescription because he had never heard of the drug.”

[Warpy]

10. Um, no.

https://www.auvi-q.com/

http://www.streetinsider.com/Analyst+Comments/Mylan+NV+%28MYL%29%3A+Another+Epipen+Competitor+Delayed,+Possible+Catalyst+for+EPS+Increases+-+Evercore+ISI/11711545.html

https://smithonstocks.com/antares-responding-to-two-questions-on-tevas-ab-rated-competitor-to-epipen-atrs-buy-2-44/ (note the date, Teva has been stalled for 2 years now)

Congress needs to find out just what the problem at the FDA is and who keeps insisting on these endless investigations. My guess is that Mylan is doing what Astra Zeneca did for years with its own blockbuster drug, Prilosec. They blocked generics for over five years until they could get approval for their "me too" drug Nexium. It's a study on monopoly protection.

However, doctors and their patients are not to blame in this one.

[KittyWampus]

11. Well, there doesn't seem to be any source faulting Adreniclick. Doctors just haven't heard of it.

And that's almost certainly because Mylan/EpiPen spends millions on lobbying and tv advertising their product.

It seems to be mostly about ignorance and lack of will, no faulty alternatives


…………………………….
Epinephrine is a cornerstone medication in the treatment of anaphylaxis. As allergists we routinely prescribe this medication for many of our patients. For years we only had to remember the name EpiPen (http://www.epipen.com/) as it was the sole product available for our patients to safely and easily use. Recently we added new injectors, the latest being the Adrenaclick (http://www.adrenaclick.com/).

In May 2010 a "generic" epinephrine auto-injector was released for distribution. This epinephrine auto-injector (http://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?id=16934) has no trade name currently (it is distributed by Greenstone, a generic division of Pfizer). It has been authorized by Shionogi, the maker of the Adrenaclick, as a generic of the Adrenaclick. This is somewhat confusing as all of the auto-injectors are considered by the FDA as BX rated indicating that the FDA has determined that there is insufficient data showing that epinephrine auto-injector products are therapeutically equivalent and safe to substitute. Normally to be generically equivalent a drug would have an AB rating.

The EpiPen does not currently have a generic auto-injector and the Greenstone generic epinephrine auto-injector cannot be substituted for the EpiPen.




In an informal survey of patients and pharmacists in Missouri, there is some concern about what products the patients may receive. Patients report they would like to continue to receive the same auto-injector they had previously and are concerned they might not know how to use a new injector if a substitute is given to them without instruction. Pharmacists have yet to see the new auto-injector and most were unaware of its existence. One pharmacist was very concerned that EpiPen prescriptions might get substituted in less scrupulous pharmacies. Other pharmacists freely admit that they do not always take the time to instruct the patients in the use of the auto-injectors. When asked the pharmacists agree that this a formula for confusion and potentially a reason for delay or error in administration of the epinephrine.

Here are a few tips to decrease the confusion. For the prescriber: Write for the exact product that you and the patient agree upon and sign dispense as written on the prescription. Make sure that the patient has been instructed in your office in the use of the specific injector. Empower your patient to check out their epinephrine auto-injector BEFORE they leave the pharmacy.

For the patient: Make sure you know how to use your auto-injector before you leave your doctor’s office. Check your auto-injector IN the pharmacy and make sure you are getting the product your doctor prescribed and trained you on. If you determine that a legitimate substitution has been made, make sure you are trained in its use and comfortable with the new injector before leaving the pharmacy. Epinephrine is life saving and you should be able to competently use this for yourself or a loved one.




http://acaai.org/resources/connect/letters-editor/letters-to-web-editor-6

[Warpy]

17. Pharmacists have heard of it, so just get the doc to check that "generic" box

for anything but thyroid hormone, something that varies by manufacturer. Get that generic box ticked even when you don't know of a competitor, you never know when one will pop up.

The pharmacist will instruct the patient on how to use it. They are different from Epi Pens.

I know if I needed these things, I'd be sufficiently annoyed at Mylan that I'd get any alternative I could, just on general principles.

I'm delighted there is one. Google was full of FDA stalling creating a monopoly for Mylan but articles about Adrenaclick were scarce.

I did find that Walmart stocks it if no one else does.

[n2doc]

18. Especially when the CEO is the daughter of a Senator n/t

[workinclasszero]

4. Of course it is but..

...hey, let's blame the scary black man that's President, yeah that will work!

[liberal N proud]

3. How did Obamacare cause the price to go up?

Mylan did not return Fortune’s request for comment about the Obamacare connection. But in a statement on Monday, Mylan says it has tried to make EpiPen accessible and affordable to people who really need it, offering rebate cards that allowed 80% of patients with commercial insurance to get the product for free last year.

[HughBeaumont]

6. She's on CNBC: "The System Is Broken" "Our health care system is in a crisis"

Yeah, and people like the Pharma corporations, the insurance companies and Capitalism-batshit America have their hands all over the hammers.

America needs to just get the fuck over themselves and realize once and for all that health care is a goddamned human RIGHT and not everything has to be about making a buck.

[RapSoDee]

7. Typical Republican "values"

People like this (usually Republicans) always slither away from responsibility, always try to blame others.

[alarimer]

8. She's the daughter of a Democrat.

I have no idea if she is one or not, but her father is a Democrat who acts like a Republican so maybe it amounts to the same thing.

[RapSoDee]

20. Makes no diff whether a D or an R after a person's name

If they are greedy, corrupted and bullshitty enough, they have clearly embraced Republican "values" and turned their back on American values.

[sweetapogee]

15. you are soooo right

see what I mean?

http://www.wfmz.com/lifestyle/money/mylan-pledges-to-make-epipen-more-affordable/41364876

[MiniMe]

12. Perhaps if they weren't spending so much money on advertising, they wouldn't need to charge so much

Epi-pens are constantly doing ads on the TV machine. I'm sure they are spending a boatload on advertising funds. Naah, they just want more $$$ for them.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. On what can we blame the price increases BEFORE the ACA was signed?

The fear of pending, looming Obamacare?

[Mariana]

16. I love how these people pretend

that prices for drugs never, ever increased before the ACA.

[Initech]

14. Gee what a shocker!!!

Not.

[Johonny]

19. She is in fact a horrible human being.

Her statement is disgusting. Her treatment of people in need of her massively overpriced medical aid is inhumane.

[MagickMuffin]

21. I place the BLAME on her

She is the one who has increased her salary by a huge amount. Perhaps if she wasn't so greedy she would understand why everyone is upset. She needs to quit blaming others for her greed!