The announcement comes less than a week after Klobuchar called on the Senate Judiciary Antitrust Committee to hold a hearing to investigate the enormous increase in the price of EpiPens and for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Mylan Pharmaceuticals
Klobuchar and a bipartisan group of senators have also asked the Food and Drug Administration to answer questions about its approval process and other steps for alternatives to the EpiPen
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar made the following statement today on Mylan Pharmaceutical’s announcement to expand its existing EpiPen patient assistance programs. The announcement comes less than a week after Klobuchar called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing to investigate the enormous increase in the price of EpiPens and for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Mylan Pharmaceuticals. Klobuchar and a bipartisan group of senators have also asked the Food and Drug Administration to answer questions about its approval process and other steps for alternatives to the EpiPen.
“Today's action by Mylan is welcome relief to many who are struggling to afford this lifesaving medication. It won't fully address the root of the problem. The burden of the EpiPen price increases and other prescription drug increases – from insulin to Naxolone – persists for American families, taxpayers, and employers,” said Klobuchar. “We cannot rely on public outcry as the only solution to high prescription drug prices. That is why I'll continue to fight for permanent solutions that protect American consumers from the rising cost of prescription drugs. We need to pass my bills to change current laws that give pharmaceutical companies the upper hand in bargaining prices for prescription drugs, make it easier for consumers to import prescription drugs from Canada, expand access to cost-saving generic drugs, and deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper alternatives from entering the marketplace. It's this simple—if you have a life-threatening illness then you should have affordable access to the life-saving medication you need."
Klobuchar has championed efforts to address the high cost of prescription drugs, authoring multiple pieces of legislation that would protect American consumers. She has introduced the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of 2015, that would empower Medicare to negotiate for the best possible price of prescription medication. Current law only allows for bargaining by pharmaceutical companies and bans Medicare from doing so. She has also introduced the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act that would require the Food and Drug Administration to establish a personal importation program that would allow individuals to import a 90-day supply of prescription drugs from an approved Canadian pharmacy. The Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act would expand consumers’ access to the cost-saving generic drugs they need and increase competition between drug manufacturers and choices for consumers by helping to put an end to “pay for delay” deals—the practice of brand-name drug manufacturers using anti-competitive pay-off agreements to keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market. She also joined with Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Mike Lee (R-UT) to introduce the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act to deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace.
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