A new generic competitor for the popular allergy drug EpiPen isn’t going to be any cheaper than one already on the market, even though the Trump administration touted the generic as evidence its fight against high drug prices was working.
Teva Pharmaceuticals announced on Monday it will provide its generic version of the EpiPen in limited doses for $300. The price is the exact same as one already on the market made by Mylan, the original brand-name maker of the EpiPen.
A brand-name company can create something called an “authorized generic,” which is when the company takes a brand-name drug it owns and markets it as a generic at a lower price, while still having the brand name drug available at a higher price.
That is what Mylan did in 2016 when a public furor erupted over the $600 price tag of the EpiPen. It created an authorized generic available for $300.
The Trump administration has repeatedly touted its record approvals of generic drugs as a way to increase competition and lower high drug prices. The FDA touted the approval of Teva’s generic EpiPen in August as part of its effort to combat high drug prices.
“This approval means patients living with severe allergies who require constant access to life-saving epinephrine should have a lower-cost option,” FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a statement at the time.
Gottlieb told the Washington Examiner in a statement that the agency “cannot control commercial decisions on pricing. Importantly, we have found that having three or more generic competitors brings prices down more sharply than with only one or two generic competitors.”
He added that in fiscal year 2017 the agency tentatively approved or approved a record 937 generics and in 2018 it approved or tentatively approved 971.
“We also will continue our focus on helping to bring more generic versions of complex drugs, like EpiPen, to the market,” he said.
