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-- OriginalOwner_ [tinyurl.com] writes:

from the better-mousetrap-trapped-in-limbo dept.

AlterNet reports [alternet.org]

The [EpiPen], which millions of Americans depend on, was invented in the 1970s by engineer Sheldon Kaplan [invent.org][PDF], who died seven years ago in modest surroundings amid obscurity [archive.org]. But Kaplan's patent made its way into [the] Netherlands-based drugmaker Mylan, which, since 2007, has jacked up the price of the spring-loaded injector from $57 a shot to $300.

[...]The high price [...] caught the attention of Dr. Douglas McMahon. The 38-year-old allergy specialist in St. Paul, Minnesota, has been thinking about how to improve on the EpiPen and to do so in a way that's affordable.

[...]McMahon saw that the EpiPen device was not only overpriced for what it does but also was too big to be easily carried in a pocket. For the past couple of years, he has been tinkering with injection-device components in his lab. And the result of his work is AllergyStop [allergystopnow.com] [1] [archive.li], an injection prototype that's small enough to fit on a key chain. McMahon claimed his device is as effective as the EpiPen and can be marketed and sold for about $50.

But, even though McMahon's device has been production-ready for the past two months, the steps he must take to get the device approved will cost him about $2 million and it will potentially take him years to go through all the hurdles required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for possible approval of his invention.

[1] All content is behind scripts. archive.li will run those for you.

Original Submission