Prescription Pharmaceutical Companies: A Case Study

It was announced that Mylan will soon release a generic version of the epinephrine injectors and it almost cuts the price in half. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz of Utah stated, “the actual juice that’s in here that you need costs about a dollar.” Of course, Mylan still has extremely high prices for this relatively cheap product. Another way Mylan wants to help cut prices is by offering $300 coupons to those who need them. The only people that receive these coupons are the ones whose insurance does not cover the cost of the EpiPen

There are often expenses that are not planned for, especially when it comes to healthcare. Recently, there has been a spike in the cost of a commonly-used device to treat many severe allergic reactions: The EpiPen. The EpiPen is an epinephrine auto-injector that is used to treat anaphylactic shock. Anaphylactic shock is “a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that occurs within seconds or minutes of exposure to an allergen” (Mayo). A pack of two EpiPens can cost around six-hundred dollars, while it only costs around fifteen dollars to create one. (Mangan) Since Mylan NV, the maker of EpiPens, “acquired the rights to the drug in 2007, it’s raised the per-dose list price from about $50 a shot to $304... The EpiPen now generates about $1 billion a year for Mylan” (). In addition, in 2013, the U.S. government “passed a law that gave funding preferences for asthma treatment grants to states that maintained an emergency supply of EpiPens” (NYTimes). The distribution of the product is definitively limited to those willing and able to pay a copious sum for a drug that might save one’s life. Therefore, a solution to this limitation must be made in order to produce more adequate healthcare.The Epipen distribution system can be fixed in a variety of ways that benefit either the consumer or the company, but still result in an increase in the number of people who can access the medicine, which is important for many reasons. The best solution to this situation would

The EpiPen is only one out of numerous lifesaving medications that pharmaceutical companies have increased the price to an amount that the average consumer cannot afford. As both a concerned constituent and a health care provider, I would never want people to have a lack of access to medications that could potentially save or improve their quality of life for any reason. It is now imperative that the government on all levels demand transparency in the cost to create and manufacture medications and also enforce drug price controls. Senator McEachin, this is why I want you to co-sponsor and support Senator Emmett Hanger’s prescription drug price transparency bill (SB487). This bill will require drug manufacturers to give information on the cost of research and development, manufacturing, marketing, price changes, and profits for each prescription drug sold in the Commonwealth of Virginia for a wholesale cost of $10,000 for a single treatment course (SB487: Prescription drug price, n.d.; Silverman, 2016).

According to Mark Baum, “The cost of epinephrine is literally less than a Big Mac of EpiPens ingredient. The auto injector is available between $3 and $7” (Egan). The history of the EpiPen provides background for reasonable prices and accessibility. CEO of Mylan Pharmaceutical Company raises prices too high for average consumer. Price hike is unethical because it endangers life of those who can’t afford it puts pharmacists profit above value of life. The Mylan Pharmaceutical Company is being unethical in its outrageous price increase of the EpiPen, making it almost impossible for the average consumer to purchase.

Acquiring or being born with a life-threatening disease is a very expensive experience in the United States. Notably, prices of some of the most popular drugs, like Mylan EpiPens have increased drastically over the last couple years. This can make it extremely difficult for poorer individuals to buy expensive medication, especially if they are not on an already overpriced health insurance plan. The article “Don’t Only Blame Mylan for $600 EpiPens” written by Ezekiel J. Emanuel on September 8, 2016 and published by Fortune Insiders analyzes the recurring high drug prices gouging sick individuals in the United States. Poor competition, patents granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and lengthy drug approval processes are leading

Imagine yourself walking down the aisle of your pharmacy like Rite Aid, CVS, or Walmart. You have been suffering from some headaches and you want to get some pain killers. As you reach for you a box of Extra Strength Tylenol (also known as Acetaminophen) that costs $8.95 , you spot a bottle of Equate Extra Strength Acetaminophen for only $41. Not only is this generic store brand less than half the price of Tylenol, it also had double the product! You mind wavers on which capsules to buy. Does the lower cost of generic indicate a lack of effectiveness compared to Tylenol? Or are generics created equally to brand name medications, but the cost of brands is driven up due to their marketing? Should doctors prescribe generics as an option for patients that are covered little or not covered at all by insurance? In the essay, we are going to put an end to the Generic vs Brand war.

One of the biggest, if not the biggest itself, health care costs is drugs for patients (Hurter, 2006). There is a 15 percent raise in health care costs each year (Hurter, 2006). The spending on the specific medicines has blown up to 30.9 %; and research is indicating that this could grow by 4 times by the year 2020 (“The high prices of prescription drugs,” n.d.). This number would reach $400 billion by 2020 (“The high prices of prescription drugs,” n.d.). This increase in drug expenditure comes from truth that people are consuming more medications as a result of these people increasingly developing continual sicknesses (Hurter, 2006).

If the pharmacy would offer discounted drugs, they could expect to see customers who are self-pay or do not have a prescription plan. Self-paying customers and those on a monthly budget would be attracted to discounted prices that the pharmacy could offer. Pharmacist could provide detailed information about the prescription and what drugs may counteract them, continuing the health management plan provided by the physician. After establishing the need for customer base, they would have to look at the competition and their buying patterns. One thing this pharmacy has is the availability to patient’s medical health history on hand; this would make the patient at ease knowing the pharmacist has knowledge of their medical history. According to Williams & Torrens (2008), “As patients and health care professionals have turned increasingly to medications as cost-effective alternatives to invasive surgery and hospitalization, spending on prescription medications has naturally increased” (263). Medicine is providing patients to live longer, healthier lives even though they might suffer from a chronic illness or disease. Showing stakeholders this information of increased prescription medications might help influence their decision to support the new pharmacy. An incentive of more financial income to the

Epinephrine, the medicine contained within an EpiPen, is sold very cheaply. The Epipen, however, has faced a series of price increases, resulting in its manufacturer, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, facing extreme criticism. According to Carrier (2016), “Between 2009 and 2016, Mylan raised the price of this life-saving device, which delivers epinephrine to treat anaphylaxis shock, 15 times, resulting in an increase of more than 400%” (p.1). The uproar is widespread, with several powerful voices chiming in, such as that of democratic presidential

I was shocked to learn that EpiPen’s are sold for $600 when the epinephrine included in it costs less than $10 retail! That is an absurd markup! “The FDA has systematically slowed down approval of EpiPen competitors and smothered generic competition in unrealistic red tape.Meridian Medical Technologies, a subsidiary of Pfizer that manufactures EpiPen for Mylan,

The high cost of Prescription Drugs is one of the significant issues in the USA for a long time and is rising much faster than the consumer inflation rate. The consumers pay two to three times more than the average cost of medications in the United States. A study by Kessekheim, Avron, and Sarpatwari (2016) shows that the major factors that affect the prices of the medications include are the manufacturer's exclusivity during the time of patents and rights to set the price of the medications. Apart from this corporate greed delayed the availability of generic drugs after the exclusivity period of the medications. Governments in most of the developed countries like Canada, UK, and Germany negotiates the price of the medications with the pharmaceuticals

According to the article from David Lemberg (2012), “$2.5 trillion pie is big pharma” but my friend’s daughter had to shell out $450.00 for 1 month supply of Lyrica because she has the Affordable cost insurance. The less you spend for premium, the more out of pocket expense you will incur; the seniors of Florida are being milked out of their retirement. No wonder I saw it on the new where pharmacist are saying that the waiting lines are longer, and they cannot train pharmacy technician fast enough. Unfortunately, because of greed, fraud and disparities in health care, it will be a waging battle to curtail this ridiculous wasteful spending. Bookkeepers are now crook keepers, or should we call it is the American

You have mentioned a great point of rising prescription costs. Research shows there is an increasing trend in prices of both the branded as well as the generic medicines. I think this problem can be dealt with the patient awareness, greater competition among drug makers and strict regulations. Increased competition will fuel innovation which will lead to new products and broad availability of several types of products for same condition will keep prices in check in the long run.

For Mylan, their stakeholders can include patients, insurance companies, pharmacies, families, and schools. Patients are affected because they are the ones that need the EpiPens the most and, if they do not have one, they could be rushed to the hospital. Insurance companies are invested in this situation as well because they are responsible for helping families pay for their drugs and treatments; they will have to pay more due to the increase in price. Pharmacies, such as CVS and Walgreens are also at a disadvantage because less people would be buying EpiPens, resulting in a profit loss for the pharmacies. In addition, families who are obviously concerned about their children and the family's finances may not be able afford the medication

High drug prices are the result of the approach the United States has taken in granting government protected monopolies to drug manufacturers. A few short-term strategies to address high prices include enhancing competition by ensuring the availability of generic drugs; and effectively educating patients, physicians, insurers, and policy makers about these choices.