Do better, Grassley tells EpiPen maker

Sen. Chuck Grassley blasted Mylan for insufficient answers to a series of questions he gave the drug maker about the EpiPen price hike. Grassley is part of a slew of lawmakers starting probes into the hike.

It is the first detailed response from Mylan made public by a lawmaker.

Mylan didn’t “provide the full picture that I requested and it doesn’t answer my questions,” the Iowa Republican said Friday. “There isn’t much discussion of what analyses went into the price-setting in response to my question. There also isn’t much of a description of the product features and value that the company says have helped to justify the price increases.”

Grassley asked Mylan what analyses it conducted to determine EpiPen’s price.

The company responded in a letter that a collection of factors — competition, cost of goods, etc. — led to the higher price.

It pointed out that a competitor made by Sanofi, which was recalled for safety reasons last year, cost more at the time than the EpiPen.

However, Mylan then pivoted into the moves it made to address the outrage, including making a version that is $300 cheaper than the $600 pricier version and creating a $300 discount card.

Mylan also argues it made $1 billion in investments over the past eight years to increase awareness of anaphylaxis risk. That included a high-profile ad campaign with actress Sarah Jessica Parker, who severed ties with the drug maker after news of the price increase broke.

The company said it regrets that discount and patient assistance programs “did not keep pace with the evolving healthcare system, and, as a result, some patients are facing out-of-pocket costs that were never intended.”

Grassley had qualms with Mylan’s response.

“The company says a large number of patients have benefited from patient assistance programs, but the outrage Congress is hearing seems to indicate that a lot of people aren’t seeing those benefits,” he said. “It may be that the newly announced expanded patient assistance program will make a difference, but that’s to be determined.”

He added that the programs don’t apply to Medicaid or Medicare.

Mylan had no comment on Grassley’s statements.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations this week started a probe into the price hike. It follows work done by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which asked for a briefing and additional questions from Mylan about how it got to the $600 price tag.

Other lawmakers want to know if Mylan stiffed Medicaid by not having to pay a higher rebate under the federal healthcare program.