House Committee Presses Mylan for Paperwork on EpiPen Profits

By:
in Food Allergy, Food Allergy News
Published: October 3, 2016

chaffetz chairmanCommittee chairman Rep. Jason Chaffetz
A Congressional committee sent a letter to pharmaceutical company Mylan, seeking a long list of documents related to EpiPen profits and pricing.

In the October 3, 2016 letter, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requires Mylan to supply internal sales, profit and costs documentation on the epinephrine auto-injectors – which have risen in price more than 500 percent since 2008.

Further, the committee wants paperwork to support testimony from Mylan CEO Heather Bresch that, even though the retail price of the devices is now $608, the company only makes $100 profit per two-pack EpiPen set.

Committee Seeks Tax Info


In the letter, committee chair Rep. Jason Chaffetz and ranking member Rep. Elijah Cummings says that Bresch’s statements to the panel on Sept. 21, 2016 “omitted key tax assumptions that affect the company’s profit per pack.” The Wall Street Journal has reported that the $100 profit Bresch was based on factoring in a 37.5 percent tax rate; without that reduction for tax, the profit would be 60 percent higher, or $166 per EpiPen set.

In a statement, Mylan’s spokesperson said: “We remain committed to productive and continued cooperation with the committee, and we intend to respond to their request for additional information.”

The House Oversight committee is also seeking documents about rebates to pharmacy benefits managers, insurers and retailers, as well as sales projections on the lower priced generic version of the EpiPen, which Mylan says it will launch soon. See the committee’s full letter here.