We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. Learn more.

  1. Business
  2. Small Business

EpiPen Maker Mylan Has New Reasons to Worry About Its Cash Cow

By:
Martha C. White
2 min read
- Congressional Quarterly—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.
Congressional Quarterly—CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Even as drug company Mylan continues to be under scrutiny for its attempts to justify a 500% price hike for the EpiPen and its executives' outsized pay packages, there are indications that something both more prosaic and more threatening to its bottom line might be coming: competition.

"Recent news about the price spike of EpiPen has caused concern," the Food & Drug Administration said in a blog post on Wednesday. "We stand ready to quickly review additional applications that come to us from manufacturers, especially applications for generic versions." Mylan has said it will make its own generic EpiPen, although critics have pointed out that could earn the company even more money than its $608 name-brand EpiPen.

Fortunately, Mylan might have more company soon. "The good news is that the FDA has already approved four epinephrine auto-injectors to treat anaphylaxis in an emergency, and two are currently marketed," the agency said in its blog post. "We at the FDA are also doing all we can to encourage manufacturers to develop innovative new auto-injectors... To help development, we built a roadmap that will get these products on the market faster," it said.

That means more alternatives could be on the way, which is likely to be a relief for the families and policymakers who have complained about the slow pace of drug approvals.

Tags