The EpiPen uproar, explained

The EpiPen now costs about $600 for a two-pack — up from roughly $100 in 2007

The hike in the price of EpiPens has caused national outrage.
(Image credit: REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

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Move over, Martin Shkreli, America has a new drug industry villain, said Jordan Weissmann at Slate. Mylan Pharmaceuticals has drawn "public wrath and congressional scrutiny" over the relentless series of price hikes on its lifesaving EpiPen. The device, which stops potentially fatal allergic reactions by injecting a precise dose of epinephrine, now costs about $600 for a two-pack, up from roughly $100 when Mylan acquired EpiPen in 2007. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch — who earned nearly $19 million in total compensation last year — initially tried to defend the company, blaming its price rises on a "broken" health-care system. But after weeks "of thorough public shaming, it looks like Mylan is kind of, sort of, throwing in the towel." The company announced this week that it would soon release a generic version of the EpiPen, which will cost only $300 per two-pack. So, progress?

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