Company to sell cheaper version of EpiPen

Associated Press

The maker of EpiPens will start selling a cheaper, generic version of the emergency allergy shots as the furor over repeated U.S. price hikes continues – and looming competition threatens its near-monopoly.

Despite its second move in five days to make EpiPens more affordable for consumers, maker Mylan N.V. still faces condemnation from critics who accused it of price-gouging. They note Mylan hasn’t reduced the $608 list price for a pair of EpiPen auto injectors or explained why it hiked the price more than 500 percent from $94 after acquiring the product in 2007.

“More must be done – and more quickly – to make this life-saving drug more affordable,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement Monday. “Mylan may appear to be moving in the right direction, but its announcement raises as many questions as solutions – including why the price is still astronomically high, and whether its action is a pre-emptive strike against a competing generic.”

Mylan, which mainly sells generic medicines, said Monday it will begin selling its generic version for $300 for a pair of EpiPens, in doses for adults or children, like the current EpiPens.