Epinephrine and Pharma Gouging
Everyone remembers how the EpiPen starting going up in price after a pharmaceutical company realized they could secretly do it. Not until pressure and, more importantly, competition did it become more affordable. Now other drugs that have been around for decades are starting to be bought up and the prices are becoming outlandish to buy them as well. Remember, these drugs are not even protected by patents anymore.
The newest travesty involves plain old epinephrine and it is explained here by a reader of this blog:
Just had to absord an 800% increase in the price of Lidocaine with eprinephrine. If I can find it I now pay $13 for a 20 ml bottle and last year I paid $4 for a 50 ml bottle! This drug that has been available since the 1920s.
Also, there are no epinephrine ampules at $1 anymore. Here are the new prices:
- Epinephrine (1:1,000) 1mg/ml 1mL 10/Amp (PF) (SF) at $235 per box
- Epinephrine HCl 0.1mg/mL 10mL 10/box
- Syringe at $345 per pack or individually
- Epinephrine HCl Injection 1mg/mL 30mL Vial each at $155 each
Please share this to get the word out in order to bring competition into the market and bring down prices like what happened with the EpiPen.
The State of Maryland passed a law last year to allow our Attorney General to sue pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) for price hikes of > 50% per year for generic drugs charged to our Medicaid system. The drug industry is, of course, fighting back. We will see what happens in court.
Do any of you belong to your state medical society? We were instrumental in getting this passed. There is an advantage to belonging to organized medicine!
Stephen Rockower, MD
President, MedChi, the Maryland State Medical Society
I fear the same thing is about to happen with atenolol
Sad, very sad. Remember what happened to good ‘ol tetracycline? Same thing.
So what do you do if there is no competition forthcoming?? Or if the only competition manufactures in India? I think it is still legal to pay somebody / company to NOT compete. That practice was highlited a few years ago and doubt it has been made illegal.
UK
Canada
Israel
Germany
At least those nations, and surely we can add more. Countries where I would have no problem taking a pharmaceutical manufactured in that nation, and I doubt anyone else would have a problem either. I mean from the perspective of quality standards that are comparable to the USA, if not better.
We should be able to import pharmaceuticals from those countries as easily as we can ship domestic product across state lines.
I just experienced the same thing when trying to keep Epi for the office. It goes out of date and in 32 years I have had to use it only once. Now with the increase in price, I will no longer keep it in the office and will call EMS if needed. So rather than being able to use a $1.00 vial of epi, there will be a $1,000.00 EMS charge. Once again between the insurance companies and big pharma, the cost of medicine continues to sky rocket.