Senators Collins, McCaskill Request Urgent Briefing & Information on Mylan’s Decision-Making Process to Raise the Price of EpiPen® by 480%

WASHINGTON, D.C.— In response to the skyrocketing price of EpiPen® and news reports that this price increase is limiting patient access to this life saving anecdote for allergic reactions, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Aging Committee, sent a letter to Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, to request answers and information about the company's drastic price increase of EpiPen® by 480% since 2008. The Senators also requested any analysis used by Mylan relating to the pricing or market share of EpiPen® since 2007, along with any information reviewed or generated by Mylan’s Board of Directors relating to the drug over the same period.

In their letter, Chairman Collins and Ranking Member McCaskill wrote that, “For much of its product life, EpiPen® was an affordable solution to a matter of life and death—it allowed countless Americans to save the lives of individuals suffering from allergic reactions that kill in a matter of minutes (a timeframe often too short to allow for trained medical intervention). But since Mylan acquired EpiPen® in 2007, it has implemented a cumulative 480-percent price increase.”

“We are concerned that these drastic price increases could have a serious effect on the health and well-being of every day Americans.  There have been numerous accounts of individuals who are simply unable to afford this lifesaving medication and as a consequence have gone without, risked using an expired product, or resorted to uncertain (but less expensive) treatments… As leaders of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, we are particularly concerned that seniors have access to EpiPen® because, according to Mylan’s website, older Americans ‘may be at an increased risk of having a more severe anaphylactic reaction if they are exposed to biting and stinging insects.’”

The Senators’ letter requested that the briefing occur “at a mutually convenient time no later than two weeks from today.”

Click HERE to read the signed letter. The full text of the letter is below:

August 24, 2016

Ms. Heather Bresch

Chief Executive Officer

Mylan Inc.

1000 Mylan Boulevard

Canonsburg, PA  15317

Dear Ms. Bresch:

We are concerned by reports that the skyrocketing price of EpiPen® is putting this lifesaving treatment out of reach of individuals who need it and request information to help us to understand better Mylan’s recent decision to increase dramatically the price of EpiPen®. 

EpiPen® is a relatively old product, having first come onto the market in 1987.  An auto-injector, EpiPen®, is designed to allow individuals without medical training to administer epinephrine to reverse the deadly effects of serious allergic reactions.  For much of its product life, EpiPen® was an affordable solution to a matter of life and death—it allowed countless Americans to save the lives of individuals suffering from allergic reactions that kill in a matter of minutes (a timeframe often too short to allow for trained medical intervention).  But since Mylan acquired EpiPen® in 2007, it has implemented a cumulative 480-percent price increase.  According to reports, from 2008 to present, the price of EpiPen® has risen from slightly over $100 for a two injector pack to more than $600 for the same product.  During the same time period, the profitability of the product appears to have skyrocketed, raising concerns that price increases were not driven by increased costs of production or product improvements.

We are concerned that these drastic price increases could have a serious effect on the health and well-being of every day Americans.  There have been numerous accounts of individuals who are simply unable to afford this lifesaving medication and as a consequence have gone without, risked using an expired product, or resorted to uncertain (but less expensive) treatments. While Mylan offers patient assistance, it appears that assistance may be both inadequate and presented in a manner that could be misleading to consumers.  Moreover, the harm caused by these price increases is not confined to individual Americans.  Local school districts and taxpayers are affected by these price hikes because many schools stock epinephrine auto-injectors to protect students.  In fact, federal law encourages schools to maintain an emergency supply of epinephrine. As leaders of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, we are particularly concerned that seniors have access to EpiPen® because, according to Mylan’s website, older Americans “may be at an increased risk of having a more severe anaphylactic reaction if they are exposed to biting and stinging insects.”

To assist the Committee in understanding Mylan’s decision to raise the price of EpiPen®, we ask that you provide any analysis used by Mylan relating to the pricing or market share of EpiPen® since 2007, along with any information reviewed or generated by Mylan’s Board of Directors relating to the drug over the same period. We also ask that you provide a briefing to Committee staff on the pricing of EpiPen® at a mutually convenient time no later than two weeks from today. 

We appreciate your attention to this matter.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to have your staff contact Mark LeDuc of the Majority Staff at (202) 224-5364, or Phylicia Woods of the Minority Staff at (202) 224-0185.