The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a new allergy shot medication that will directly compete with Mylan’s EpiPen, the allergy medicine that’s been heavily criticized for being unaffordable. It’s not clear how much the new medication will cost, but manufacturer Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation says it’ll be a cheaper alternative to the EpiPen.
Called Symjepi, the new allergy shot also comes in two, single-dose syringes filled with the hormone epinephrine, which ends potentially life-threatening allergy attacks from bug bites, foods like nuts, and other medication. Symjepi is expected to hit the market later this year, according to the Associated Press.
the exact price for the product hasn’t been set yet
EpiPen’s producer, Mylan, came under fire last year for spiking the price of its drug to more than $600 from about $100 in 2007. It costs less than $20 to make a pair of EpiPens, the AP says. In December, the company launched a generic version of the drug for about $300. (A generic drug is identical to a brand-name one in terms of its chemical composition and safety, but it costs less.)
Adamis is looking into selling the new medication, Symjepi, for less than the generic EpiPen, a company spokesman told the AP. In the meantime, the company is also preparing to apply for FDA approval of a junior version of Symjepi, which will contain less epinephrine and will compete with Mylan’s EpiPen Jr.
k_ironheart on June 18th, 2017 at 18:36 UTC »
This whole thing has been quite humorous. EpiPen had the market corned on allergy shots to the point that the EpiPen was practically common parlance. They got greedy and created an opportunity for a competitor to come along and sell a similar product, and simultaneously managed to make support for this new product into an ideological protest. We'll see what happens from here, but this could become an actual textbook example of how not run a company.
laptopaccount on June 18th, 2017 at 17:39 UTC »
And now EpiPen will magically have a lower price after claims that the price hikes were necessary to make it profitable.
nubish on June 18th, 2017 at 17:34 UTC »
Look up auvi-q
The company that makes it will pay for your device I'd your insurance won't cover it.
So there already is a cheaper alternative to the epi pen, auvi-q is also a much smaller device.