Posted by Michael Wonder on 29 Aug 2016
Why US drug makers charge outrageous prices
29 August 2016 - More commentary from an ex-FDA commissioner who seems to know all about prices.
By the time a drug reaches your medicine cabinet, it passes through a long series of intermediaries who each take a cut of money. It's part of an intricate, if not wasteful supply chain that pharmaceutical companies created more than 30 years ago. It's a scheme that's now working against their economic interest, and yours as well.
That system was on trial last week, when Mylan CEO Heather Bresch rebutted widespread criticism over the frequent price increases that her company has taken for its drug EpiPen — auto-injected form of epinephrine used in the treatment of severe allergic reactions. EpiPen can now cost $600 for a package of two pens.
Bresch said it's not Mylan's pricing policy that's corrupt, but the drug-distribution system. It compels Bresch to hike the list price of its medicine, she says, so that Mylan can then rebate money to a long series of drug-supply middlemen.
