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Mylan to introduce generic EpiPen at half price

The generic will be identical to the branded product in terms of functionality

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A nurse and her daughter demonstrate the use of an EpiPen.

Photo/Ralph Musthaler/Pittburgh Post-Gazette

By Marthe Fourcade
Bloomberg News

CANONSBURG, Pa. — Mylan NV, the drugmaker under fire for pricing its EpiPen emergency allergy shots at $600, said it will introduce a generic version in coming weeks that will halve the price.

The generic EpiPen will be identical to the branded product, including device functionality and drug formulation, and cost $300 per two-pack carton, Mylan said in a statement on Monday. The company also plans to continue to sell the branded version.

Mylan has attracted scrutiny for increasing the treatment’s price to about $600 for a two-pack from $57 for a single pen in 2007.

“Ensuring access to medicine is absolutely the core of Mylan’s mission,” Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch said in the statement.

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