A major payout is coming to North Carolina taxpayers after a years-long battle over the soaring cost of EpiPens.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson announced an $11 million settlement with drug distributor Mylan, resolving claims that the company used anti-competitive tactics to inflate the price of the life-saving allergy injectors.
“They ran marketing campaigns making misleading claims about the cheaper generic versions that did exist,” he said, “That meant less competition, which let them charge higher prices.”
Jackson accused Mylan of using "illegal" tactics to hike prices by 500 percent. “In 2007, a two-pack of EpiPens cost about 100 bucks, but by 2016, it was $600,” the attorney general said,”That's six times the price in nine years.”
The State Health Plan and Medicaid will each receive $4.2 million dollars. The settlement also forces Mylan to increase co-pay coupons for generics, lowering costs for the 10,000 state employees who rely on the injectors.
