The life-saving Epinephrine-dispensing EpiPens are a vital part of families that have children with food allergies. In the case of a severe reaction, people rely on them for a dose of the medicine that could save their life.
An epinephrine autoinjector is a medical device for injecting a measured dose or doses of epinephrine also known as adrenaline, by means of auto-injector technology. The devices contain a spring-loaded needle that exits the tip of the device (in some cases through a sterile membrane) and penetrates the recipient’s skin, to deliver the medication via intramuscular injection.
Nearly one out of every thirteen children has a food allergy and only last year, about 3.6 million prescriptions were written for EpiPens. They expire each year and need to be replaced.
In the last nine years, after Mylan bought the rights for EpiPen, the price for this life-saving device increased by over 450 percent, from $50 for one injector to $600 for a pack of two, leaving the dose out of reach for many families.
The device can be purchased in packs of two at FDA’s recommendation that people suffering from allergies must carry two doses just in case. However, selling them in packs of two could also mean that if one is lost, to replace it, people must double the cost by buying an extra.
For people with no insurance, this total cost of $600 must be borne out of pocket. Moreover, other insurance plans reduce the cost of the medicine but still leaves the patients to pay several hundred dollars for it.
While the price of the actual medicine is just a few dollars, Mylan — the manufacturer of EpiPen—enjoys having just a few competitors in the field.
Over the last seven years, there has been reported a 67 percent increase in the number of people using EpiPens making it the main source of income for Mylan.
The spectacular increase of the EpiPens’s price has led to families resorting to syringes filled with epinephrine as a cheaper alternative. Although it is cheaper, it also could be fatal if a vein is injected instead of a muscle.
Depending on their medical insurance plans, Mylan is offering clients coupons worth up to $100 that will allow a number of users to pay less than the asking price.
Image source: Flickr
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