Gov. Jerry Brown berated the manufacturer of a life-saving emergency allergy treatment on Friday for price gouging, even as he signed legislation to make it easier for afterschool programs, daycare centers, colleges and businesses to obtain the treatment.
The pharmaceutical company Mylan raised the price of a two-pack of EpiPen epinephrine auto-injectors from $100 in 2008 to more than $600 today, Brown wrote in his signing message. EpiPens, which reportedly face little competition in the market, deliver a dose of epinephrine to counteract anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that includes difficulty breathing.
“State government cannot stop unconscionable price increases but it can shed light on such rapacious corporate behavior,” Brown’s message said.
“It is difficult to imagine how they can justify the 500 percent increase in the price of EpiPens,” wrote Gov. Jerry Brown.
Declaring his “strong objection” to the price increases, Brown noted that they occurred as Mylan was expanding sales by promoting the stockpiling of EpiPens as a matter of public health in schools, scout troops, colleges and businesses in California and across the country. Mylan is listed as the sponsor of the new law, Assembly Bill 1386, by Assemblyman Evan Low, D-San Jose, and as a supporter of Senate Bill 1266, by Sen. Bob Huff, R-San Dimas, which passed in 2014 and requires schools to stock epinephrine auto-injectors.