Sanders Blasts Drug Co for Raising Price on Life Saving Drug

State Senator James Sanders Jr. (D-Rochdale Village, Far Rockaway) today blasted a drug company for astronomically raising the price of a life saving drug, thereby preventing many people from gaining access to the medicine which could result in death.

Mylan, a multinational pharmaceutical company that makes EpiPen, a pocket sized medical device has steadily been increasing the price of the product over the years. The EpiPen contains epinephrine, a drug used for treating a number of conditions including anaphylaxis, fatal allergic reactions from things like bee stings or accidentally consuming peanuts, which affects millions of people in the United States.

“Mylan, are you willing to let people die to make a dollar?” Sanders asked. “Apparently some people have no shame.”

“This is capitalism run wild and it is another reason why we need government,” Sanders continued. “ Left to its own devices, this company is going to endanger lives.”

In 2007, the wholesale price on an EpiPen in the United States was $57, according to moveon.org. Today, it’s over $300, even though the cost to produce the medicine is only a few dollars. A EpiPen two-pack is $85 in France. Mylan has a near monopoly on the product in this country and makes $1.2 billion a year in profits on the EpiPen alone.