Mylan Is Hit With A Racketeering Lawsuit Over EpiPen Price Increase

Many are probably thinking, wow, finally. When Mylan dramatically increased their price for the EpiPen, it had people all over up in arms over it. The huge list price increase of its anti-allergy device over the past decade finally got the company served with a class-action.

The two-pack of the auto-injector device that is used to treat potentially fatal allergic reactions, was increased to more than $600. The lawsuit claims the company engaged in an illegal scheme in order to lift the price over the last ten years.

According to the suit, the “skyrocketing” list price of EpiPen for consumers was the result of Mylan’s payments of rebates to pharmacy benefit managers who handle prescription drug benefit programs for insurance plans. This includes Express Scripts, Optum Rx, and CVS Caremark. The suit says Mylan only disclosed that its price increases for EpiPen were due to the rebate payments to the PBMs last summer.

The lawsuit also alleges that what Mylan did violates consumer protection laws of all the fifty U.S. states. It also violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

According to the suit, Mylan had increased the list price of the device 17 times since $90 a decade earlier. The suit explains that while EpiPen prices were increasing, there were also other companies that tried to introduce competing devices. These devices never succeeded as the companies were not paying the same level of rebates that Mylan was paying the pharmacy benefit managers, the suit said.

“Mylan has tried every trick in the book to avoid taking accountability to the millions of people who are living without the EpiPen they need to prevent a life-threatening allergic reaction,” said Steve Berman. Berman is a managing partner of Hagens Berman, the firm that represents the three named plaintiffs in the suit.

“Despite the fiction that Mylan has tried to sell the public, and sell Congress, the numbers don’t lie — Mylan has been the motivating force behind the jaw-dropping 574 percent EpiPen price hike,” Berman said. “Mylan is no victim.”

Mylan is the only named defendant in the suit. If the lawsuit is granted class-action status, it will cover all consumers.

Disclaimer: We have no position in Mylan Br (NASDAQ: MYL) and have not been compensated for this article.