Mylan has been in the news a lot lately, and now that it’s facing a “new proposed class action lawsuit over the price of its EpiPen allergy treatment,” the company is bound to be in the news even more in coming months. The lawsuit was filed by three EpiPen purchasers on Monday in Tacoma, Washington federal court, claiming that “Mylan engaged in a scheme with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).” What are PBMs? They’re “companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers and drug companies – to dominate the market and overcharge consumers.”
Mylan has been in the news a lot lately, and now that it’s facing a “new proposed class action lawsuit over the price of its EpiPen allergy treatment,” the company is bound to be in the news even more in coming months. The lawsuit was filed by three EpiPen purchasers on Monday in Tacoma, Washington federal court, claiming “Mylan engaged in a scheme with pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs).” What are PBMs? They’re “companies that act as intermediaries between pharmacies, insurers and drug companies – to dominate the market and overcharge consumers.”
For those who don’t know, the price of the EpiPen allergy treatment has sky-rocketed in recent years. In fact, it’s increased to more than $600 for a two-pack, compared to less than $100 back in 2007! That’s a huge hike, and it’s garnered a lot of controversy from consumers and lawmakers alike because so many people depend on the life-saving treatment. Wondering what an EpiPen is? Well, it’s a “hand-held device that treats life-threatening allergic reactions by automatically injecting a dose of epinephrine.” Many people carry them around in case they’re accidentally stung by a bee or eat a peanut that they’re allergic to. It’s a big deal, and the price increase is making the treatment unaffordable for many across the country.
While quite a few lawsuits have been filed in response to the price hikes, this new lawsuit is the “first to focus on the role of PBMs and to bring claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, a federal law historically used against organized crime.”
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs argue that “Mylan paid large rebates to PBMs so they would favor EpiPen over competitors. In helping Mylan control 95 percent of the epinephrine auto-injector market, the rebates artificially inflated EpiPen’s sticker price, resulting in higher costs for many patients.” Additionally, the lawsuit also claims that the “three largest U.S. pharmacy benefits managers, including CVS Caremark, part of CVS Health; Express Scripts Holding Co and OptumRX, part of UnitedHealth Group Inc, aided Mylan’s alleged scheme.”
But what do the plaintiffs hope to gain from this lawsuit? Their demands are simple, really. They’re simply “seeking damages to represent a nationwide class of EpiPen purchasers.”
In addition to this most recent lawsuit, along with other class action lawsuits the company is grappling with, Mylan is “also under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission and said last September that it had agreed to a $465 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department over how the drug was classified for government buyers.” However, the Justice Department has yet to confirm that particular settlement.
So far, Nina Devlin, a spokeswoman for Mylan, has declined to comment.
Sources:
Mylan Hit With New Class Action Lawsuit Over EpiPen Pricing
The maker of the EpiPen is being sued under a law that’s typically used to take on organized crime
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