20 Things to Know About Mylan and the EpiPen

Things You May Not Know About the EpiPen Company

1. The price of the EpiPen has increased 17 times since Mylan acquired the company in 2007.
2. Senator Joe Manchin (of West Virginia) has a daughter who is the CEO of Mylan.
3. Mylan was originally a West Virginia company where the Senator is from.
4. Mylan left West Virginia and the United States for a tax inversion. It moved its headquarters to the Netherlands to avoid paying higher taxes and to avoid a takeover.
5. The Dutch maneuver and movement of the company’s headquarters overseas, which transferred a large chunk of Mylan shares to a special foundation called a stichting, also acted as a poison pill that would undermine takeovers. 
6. Even Senator Joe Manchin said the move should be illegal.
7. EpiPens were about $57 when Mylan acquired it. Today, it can empty pockets of $600 or more in the US
8. EpiPens were invented in 1977, almost 40 years ago. A patent life is usually 17 years.
9. Mylan’s profits from selling EpiPens, which they have aggressively, famously marketed, hit $1.2 billion in 2015.
10. That year, Bloomberg reported that the epinephrine-delivery system represented 40% of Mylan’s operating profits.
11. EpiPen was developed for the U.S. military for treating exposure to nerve agents in the course of chemical warfare
12. The top five executives of Mylan pull in over $85 million dollars. The CEO makes about $19 million.
13. The CEO claimed to have an MBA from West Virginia University despite being 22 credits short of completion.
14. EpiPen Canada has not raised its prices in any significant way.
15. In France, two EpiPens cost about $85. Two EpiPens in the U.K. cost 89.99 pounds.
16. EpiPens in Australia cost about $40 AUD.
17. EpiPens in the U.S. cost more than anywhere else in the world.
18. The price of EpiPens in the U.S. is up almost 600%. The CEO’s salary is up 800%.
19. According to Wells Fargo, Mylan raised prices by more than 20% on 24 products, and by more than 100% on seven products. The analyst who wrote the report warned that Mylan could draw “greater regulatory scrutiny and headline risk” as a result of such price boosts.
20. The CEO loves to share that her favorite shoe is a signature, five inch stiletto.

Lives are at risk. Parents need 2, 3, 4 sometimes as many as 8 sets of EpiPens if they have multiple children with food allergies. They can no longer afford to keep their children safe. It’s hitting parents and taxpayers.

What to do if you can’t afford EpiPens? Our friends over at Kids with Food Allergies can help. Please click here.

More information can be found here on their proposed “price cut” and other concerns from families, those in the Senate and business analysts:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mylan-says-just-cut-price-143319975.html?soc_src=mediacontentstory&soc_trk=fb

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/08/24/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-ceo-behind-the-big-epipen-price-hikes.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/24/upshot/the-epipen-a-case-study-in-health-care-system-dysfunction.html

http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000545619

Robyn O'Brien

Robyn O’Brien is the co-founder of rePlant Capital, an impact investment firm, deploying integrated capital from soil to shelf in order to build soil health and financial resiliency for farmers. She is also the founder of Do Good, a strategic advisory firm, and the AllergyKids Foundation. Random House published Robyn’s book, The Unhealthy Truth, in 2009, and her TEDx talks have been translated into dozens of languages and viewed by millions around the world.