![EpiPen](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/OOZMHLCR7RVXVQWT4QEVRW77VI.png?quality=85&w=720)
![EpiPen](https://www.popsci.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/18/OOZMHLCR7RVXVQWT4QEVRW77VI.png?quality=85&w=720)
A generic EpiPen that will cut the cost of the life-saving injection tool in half is soon to come. Mylan is releasing the tool at a time when the price per pen of the on-brand product (which Mylan also makes) has been increased so aggressively as to warrant accusations of price gouging.
People who have found themselves in life or death situations due to severe allergies to food, insects and other allergens are often saved by the use of EpiPens. It would be fair to say that having a product which offers the same treatment for less is a step in the right direction, even if that product is produced by the same company.
Of course not everybody is happy with the offer.
Bernie Sanders admittedly makes a valid point: while the generic comes at a cost of about $300 for a two-pack ($150 per pen) the price was $100 in 2007. You kind of expect drugs to slowly decrease in price over time as costs shrink and competitors move onto the market, unless you’re the kind of guy who buys a one-of-a-kind Wu Tang album with profits from raising the price of a life-saving drug.
The generic EpiPen will be out in the next several weeks, according to the company. Other competitors are in the making, but it’ll be as far as a year’s time before they hit the market.
[H/T NBC]