MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Joe Manchin said he believes many of his Senate colleagues will be interested in hearing the ins and outs that have led to the price point controversy over Mylan Pharmaceutical’s EpiPen.
“By going directly to generic you cut all that out,” Manchin said. “I don’t understand it. I’m sure that I’m like my other colleagues going to find more about this and understand why there is such a differential in pricing.”
It was announced early Monday afternoon that Mylan would release a generic brand EpiPen that would cost about half of the current out-of-pocket $600 price.
“I think basically anything we can do to get prescription drug prices down–I think all prescription drug prices are extremely high,” Manchin said. “People need to have not only the access but the price points. So I think that’s great.”
Manchin’s daughter, Heather Bresch, is the CEO of Mylan and at the center of the controversy. While the cost of the EpiPen rose 500 percent since 2007, Bresch’s salary also increased exponentionally.
Bresch explained on CNBC last week that part of the price increase relates to a “broken healthcare system.” She explained that pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, wholesalers, and pharmacy retailers take in more than 50 percent of the $608 EpiPen.
“What we all saw was that [Mylan] sold it for $274, but because of it being in the brand arena–This is the things that I guess all the people in the middle got $334,” Manchin said.
Former Democratic Presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) criticized Mylan’s decision on the generic EpiPen–calling it a “PR move.”
The generic brand that could hit the market at a $300 cost would still be three times higher than the cost of the EpiPen in 2007–when Mylan assumed rights to the product.
According to CNN Money, Teva Pharmaceuticals is expected to launch their own generic version of the EpiPen next year, which would create additional market competition.
The Senate returns from recess following Labor Day weekend.