Excellent news. On Tuesday, New York’s Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced his office will be conducting an investigation into Mylan Pharmaceuticals. Mylan has been under extreme social media condemnation and has been highly criticized for jacking up the the prices of their life-saving epinephrine injectors called EpiPens. The price hike has been 600% in under 10 years. The self-injectors are critical when children and adults are struck with allergic reactions that can quickly close their throats/air passages. Without the injector and immediate medical attention, the sufferers often die a horrific death by asphyxiation/suffocation. The New York AG office reports:
A preliminary review by the Office of the Attorney General revealed that Mylan Pharmaceuticals may have inserted potentially anticompetitive terms into its EpiPen sales contracts with numerous local school systems. Mylan’s EpiPen is the predominant epinephrine autoinjector—a device and drug used in cases where an individual suffers a severe allergic reaction, which could otherwise lead to death—in the U.S. market.
AG Schneiderman believes “no child’s life should be put at risk because a parent, school, or healthcare provider cannot afford a simple, life-saving device because of a drug-maker’s anti-competitive practices.” He says Mylan will be investigated—and if they have engaged in anti-competitive business practices, or violated anti-trust laws “with the intent and effect of limiting lower cost competition, we will hold them accountable.” Schneiderin also adds:
“Allergy sufferers have enough concerns to worry about—the availability of life-saving medical treatment should not be one of them. I will bring the full resources of my office to this critical investigation.”
Big pharma price-gouging is far more prevalent in our country than in others. Mylan is not alone. There are other drug companies, like the makers of insulin, that are gouging people who suffer with diabetes. And the result in too many cases is death.
We can take action by speaking out about our own experiences we’ve had paying for high-priced medications, and sharing those stories on our personal social media networks that include Facebook, Instagram, email Twitter and blogging. We can also contact our Congress members—especially now during election year when they tend to pay more attention to their voting constituents. Lastly, below is a petition you can sign that is gaining traction.
Social media has jumped on this story and is responsible for the majority of the press and bringing awareness to the public. With more investigations being prompted by the people, we just might see a positive turnaround on the long-standing big pharma greed that can cause the death of people most in need.