According to NBC, Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, a pharmaceutical company that bought the rights to EpiPens in 2007, has raised the price of the pens, which are used in emergencies to treat severe allergic attacks, by 400 percent over the last eight years. (Bresch’s pay, in the meantime, has increased by 671 percent.) That means that EpiPens, which used to cost around $94, now sell for an average of $608. Bad news for kids with life-threatening allergies! Members of Congress are demanding more explanation from Mylan on the price increases.
Perhaps even more insidious is the fact that Mylan spent millions on lobbying over the past decade. In decisions that directly benefited Mylan, the FDA in 2010 recommended that EpiPens be prescribed not only to patients with confirmed allergies, but also those who are at risk. The agency also recommended packaging two pens together as opposed to selling single doses.
Martin Shkreli, who is one of the most hated men in America, weighed in on the matter this morning, stating that the price was actually “quite a bargain,” especially if you consider the much higher costs of going to a hospital for anaphylactic shock.
In other words, suck it up you allergen-whining, free market–hating goons!