Mylan chief executive Heather Bresch, the daughter of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), has been called by The House Oversight Committee to explain why she has significantly increased the price of the EpiPen, an auto-injector used to treat severe allergic reactions, by over 550% in the last few years, due to "justified outrage from families and schools across the country struggling to afford." The committee claims it will " encourage greater competition in the EpiPen market by speeding FDA’s approval of generics." Grab your popcorn.
Or to simplify – Explain this:
Testimony of Mylan CEO Heather Bresch – Prepared remarks:
2016 09 21 Mylan CEO Bresch Testimony
As WSJ reports, Ms. Bresch's prepared testimony for the hearing doesn't have a lot in it to soothe lawmakers if they're in the mood to grill her — and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee can be a tough panel to face.
The CEO describes how she "grew up in a small town in West Virginia, in a close family with a strong work ethic" and "joined Mylan in 1992 as an entry level clerk, performing basic administrative tasks in the basement of the company's manufacturing facility."
But that account makes no mention of her father, Democratic U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who has represented the state in Washington since 2010 and was previously its governor. Before that, he was its secretary of state, and a state legislator from 1982 to 1996.
Ms. Bresch also takes a potentially provocative stance by arguing that attention to Mylan's pricing strategy has been disproportionate to its efforts to ensure that patients without an employer or government program picking up most of the tab can get it for less.
"With the current focus on pricing, I'm very concerned that the access part of the equation is being minimized," she is set to say.
Her rendition of EpiPen Economics, as Jonathan described earlier, is also a risky strategy. She plans to tell legislators: "After subtracting all EpiPen Auto-Injector related costs our profit is $100, or approximately $50 per pen."
It's not far-fetched to imagine someone asking her to discuss costs and profits in the context of Mylan NV executives' pay. It ranks second in executive compensation among drug and biotech companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.
Live Feed: (click image for link to CSPAN3 live feed)
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As The House Oversight Committee explains…
“There is justified outrage from families and schools across the country struggling to afford the high cost of EpiPens. We look forward to receiving answers next week from Mylan about its dramatic price hike for this life-saving medication. We also plan to examine ways to encourage greater competition in the EpiPen market and to speed FDA’s approval of acceptable new generic applications,” Chaffetz and Cummings said in a joint statement.
“Our goal is to work together to ensure that critical medications, like the EpiPen, are accessible and affordable for all of our constituents.”
Two weeks ago, Chaffetz and Cummings sent a bipartisan letter to Heather Bresch, the CEO of Mylan, requesting documents and communications regarding the increasing price of EpiPens, including documents relating to the company’s revenues from sales of EpiPens since 2007, manufacturing costs, and the amount of money the company receives from federal government health care programs. The company has indicated that it will begin producing documents this week.
2016-08-29 JC and EEC to Bresch-Mylan EpiPen Pricing
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