CVS Health Corp (ticker: CVS) is gearing up for a fight with Mylan NV (MYL) on drug pricing, offering a cheaper generic option of Mylan’s EpiPen that’s nearly one-sixth the cost. This follows intense scrutiny from both Congress and President-elect Donald Trump about high drug prices.
The generic two-pack version, Adrenaclick made by Impax Laboratories, will retail for $109.99. This is the price before discounts and lower than Mylan‘s generic EpiPen price of $300. Consumers will be able to purchase Adrenaclick beginning Thursday at any CVS pharmacy, and CVS will also still carry the traditional EpiPen, according to CVS Pharmacy President Helena Foulkes.
USA Today notes that pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark have been criticized for their role in leading to EpiPen price hikes — so much so that the National Community Pharmacists Association wants a congressional hearing on said role. USA Today also notes that CVS’s move is “an unusually public attack by a pharmacy giant on an individual pharmaceutical company.” CVS could also have financial motives regarding pricing, USA Today points out.
Trump called out the pharmaceutical industry Wednesday in his first news conference since becoming the president-elect, saying it was “getting away with murder.” He proposed a solution for handling the costs: “open up more bidding for medications.”
“There’s very little bidding on drugs,” he said. “We’re the largest buyer of drugs in the world and yet we don’t bid properly.”
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CVS Health Corp (CVS) Goes After Mylan NV (MYL) With Cheaper Generic EpiPen originally appeared on usnews.com
