Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

CVS Partners With Impax to Sell Low-Cost Generic Epipen Alternative

posted by cmn32480 on Saturday January 14 2017, @06:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the this-is-what-happens-when-you-get-greedy dept.

takyon writes:

Just months after an outcry about a price hike for the life-saving "Epipen", CVS pharmacies will begin carrying a new generic injector at a cutthroat price:

Pharmaceutical giant CVS announced Thursday that it has partnered with Impax Laboratories to sell a generic epinephrine auto-injector for $109.99 for a two-pack—a dramatic cut from Mylan's Epipen two-pack prices, which list for more than $600 as a brand name and $300 as a generic.

The lower-cost auto-injector, a generic form of Adrenaclick, is available starting today nationwide in the company's more than 9,600 pharmacies. Its price resembles that of EpiPen's before Mylan bought the rights to the life-saving devices back in 2007 and raised the price repeatedly, sparking outcry. [...] The price of $109.99 for the alternative applies to those with and without insurance, CVS noted. And Impax is also offering a coupon to reduce the cost to just $9.99 for qualifying patients. [...] Meanwhile, backlash to Mylan's price hikes continue. This week, Cigna, a top health insurance company, said that it will no longer cover Mylan's brand name EpiPen—it will only cover the generic, which was rolled out in December.

Previously: AllergyStop: $50 EpiPen is Production-Ready but...
Mylan Overcharged U.S. Government on EpiPens

Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
CVS Partners With Impax to Sell Low-Cost Generic Epipen Alternative | Log In/Create an Account | Top | 17 comments | Search Discussion
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Saturday January 14 2017, @10:21PM

    by Immerman (3985) on Saturday January 14 2017, @10:21PM (#453930)

    I think I heard that the original Epipen design was discontinued because it used something like a CFC propellant, which became problematic with environmental regulations. Seems like it would hardly be noteworthy to just use a different propellant, but FDA approval can apparently be very finicky, and I strongly suspect regulatory capture makes life extra difficult for any upstarts.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  
    Total Score:   2  

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @04:23AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 15 2017, @04:23AM (#454001)
    As far as I can tell the EpiPen is not a gas jet autoinjector (such designs have so far only been widely used for administration of insulin, not epinephrine), and it works just via a spring that pushes a syringe plunger when it is used, so there is no propellant gas of any kind inside one.

    • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Sunday January 15 2017, @08:12PM

      by Immerman (3985) on Sunday January 15 2017, @08:12PM (#454155)

      Perhaps that's the new design? I don't know, only passing on hearsay.