For an fabulously common , life - saving medication , EpiPens ( epinephrine auto - injectors ) are amazingly unmanageable for many consumers to get ahold of . Their cost has skyrocketed in recent yr from less than $ 100 for a pack of two to more than $ 600 . They ’ve gotten so expensive that some EMTs haveresortedto using pandean pipe to manually deal epinephrine rather than purchasing the standard auto - injector , which are almost alone made by the pharmaceutic company Mylan . Generic optionshave been slow to descend to market , but according toBusiness Insider , a recently O.K. EpiPen rival is coming in the first few calendar month of 2019 , and it could deliver consumer a significant ball of variety .
The drug ’s developers have had an outstandingly hard time drive the Modern EpiPen alternative , calledSymjepi , onto storehouse ledge . The drug was approved in 2017 , but the company , Adamis Pharmaceuticals , had trouble finding investors . Now , Novartis , the Swiss - ground pharmaceutic giant that manufacture drug like Ritalin , is releasing the drug through its Sandoz division ( perhaps most famous for it role indiscovering LSDin the 1930s ) .
Symjepi will be $ 250 out - of - pocket for a pack of two Department of State . That ’s 16.6 percent less than the Mylan - authorized generic EpiPen or Teva ’s generic EpiPen , whichboth sellfor $ 300 . It differs a bit from its rivals , though , in that it ’s a pre - filled , unmarried - dose syringe rather than a spring - load motorcar - injector . Auto - injectorsare plastic , pen - like devices that keep the phonograph needle shielded until the moment of injection , and are specifically designed to help make it easier for untrained ( even squeamish ) the great unwashed to employ in an emergency . With this version , patients will want to remove a needle cap and throw in the acerate leaf . Just like the EpiPen , though , it ’s designed to be interject in the upper thigh , through clothing if necessary .
If you have health insurance , the difference in cost may not matter as much for you as a consumer , depending on your plan . ( I personally blame up a two - pack of Mylan - authorized generic Epipens at CVS latterly for $ 0 , using a producer ’s Epipencouponto knock down what would have been a $ 10 copay . ) But it will count considerably for those with high - deductible plans and to insurer , which , when present with high cost , eventually pass those costs on to the consumer either through higher co - pays or higher premiums . It also impress agencies that corrupt EpiPens for emergency use , like localfire departments . And since EpiPens expire after just a twelvemonth , the monetary value bestow up .
However , there ’s presently a shortage of EpiPens on the food market , grant to theFDA , making it more authoritative than ever to have other epinephrin drug uncommitted to those at endangerment for seriousallergic response .
[ h / tBusiness Insider ]
