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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana Attorney Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit this week against pharmaceutical giants Mylan and Pfizer, alleging they conspired to increase prices of a potentially life-saving injectable drug by 600%.
Rokita alleges the price increases of EpiPen, an auto-injectable epinephrine used to treat severe allergic reactions, prevented other similar medications from going to market.
The lawsuit, filed Jan. 16 in Marion Superior Court, alleges the companies and their subsidiaries have violated the Indiana Deceptive Consumer Sales Act, the Indiana Antitrust Act and the Medicaid False Claims Act by continually increasing the price of EpiPens and providing payments to pharmacy benefit managers to exclude competition.
“Pharmaceutical companies have prioritized profits over patients,” Rokita said in a written statement. “Many Indiana residents rely on these medications to stay alive. Hoosiers deserve to know that the prices they pay for epinephrine arise from free and fair competition.”
The lawsuit also accused the two companies of fraudulently paying doctors and committees to endorse the 2-Pak launch of the EpiPen as medically necessary while withdrawing single EpiPen sales.
EpiPen is used to inject adrenaline to treat severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis from instances including insect bites or stings, foods, or other reactions. The drug is manufactured by Pfizer subsidiaries, according to the lawsuit, and distributed by Mylan.
In a written statement shared with IBJ, Pfizer denied the allegations and said Rokita’s claims were “without merit.”
“Protecting our intellectual property is vital to our ability to develop new medicines that save or enhance patient lives,” the company said, “and we will vigorously defend against these allegations which relate to a product no longer manufactured by the company.”
Mylan’s parent company, Viatris, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
EpiPens are manufactured by Pfizer and sold by Mylan. According to the lawsuit, Mylan’s branded EpiPens constituted up to 98% of the epinephrine auto-injector market from at least 2011 through 2017.
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