Two Democratic lawmakers are calling on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate if Mylan Pharmaceuticals violated antitrust laws to make sure that EpiPen dominated the market for the life-saving allergy drug.
Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota wrote a letter on Tuesday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez charging that the contract for Mylan’s “EpiPen4Schools” discount program required some schools to sign a contract agreeing not to buy any products from competitors for a year, which is “conduct that can violate the antitrust laws when taken by a monopolist.”
“The FTC must investigate whether Mylan has maintained its monopoly position through the use of these exclusive supply contracts, enabling the company to engage in price gouging for EpiPens by blocking rivals from becoming effective competitors,” the senators wrote.
Mylan is under fire after increasing the price of a two-pack of the emergency allergy medication 400 percent since it bought the drug in 2007 to about $600.
Klobuchar, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s antitrust subcommittee, has called for a full judiciary committee hearing to investigate Mylan.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigatint Myland after the massive public outcry. Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, and Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel, sent a letter last week to Mylan CEO Heather Bresch demanding a private briefing on the controversy by Sept. 6.
Bresch defended the company’s discount programs last month during an interview on CNBC, saying that the company has successfully lobbied 48 states to require schools to have EpiPens by law.
After host Brian Sullivan pointed out that cynics would simply assert that Mylan was attempting to mandate a guaranteed market into existence through the schools program instead of working to make the drugs affordable, the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., responded, “I’m legislating in access to EpiPens.”
