Mylan today announced that it will launch the first generic to the EpiPen Auto-Injector at a 50 percent discount to the Mylan list price
The announcement follows Klobuchar’s calls last week for the Food and Drug Administration to answer questions about its approval process and other steps for alternatives to the EpiPen, for 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
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar made the following statement on Mylan Pharmaceutical’s launch of a generic version of EpiPen. Mylan today announced that it will launch the first generic to the EpiPen Auto-Injector at a 50 percent discount to the Mylan list price. The announcement follows Klobuchar’s calls last week for the Food and Drug Administration to answer questions about its approval process and other steps for alternatives to the EpiPen, for 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.
“The launch of a generic version of EpiPen is a step forward in addressing the dramatic price increase of the lifesaving medication. While I appreciate efforts to make the medication more accessible and affordable, today’s action illustrates the need for a lasting solution that promotes competition and ensures that people have access to the medications they need at a price they can afford,” Klobuchar said. “We need to pass my bills that will increase drug industry competition and lead to lower prices for consumers on prescription drugs and I call on pharmaceutical companies to stop opposing these common sense measures. I also continue my call for an FTC investigation into this and other pharmaceutical pricing issues and I continue to seek answers to our questions to the FDA about its approval process and other steps for alternatives to the EpiPen.”
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 with Senator John McCain (R-AZ) 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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