kaleo

Rival to EpiPen to be made available to many for free

pharmafile | January 23, 2017 | News story | Manufacturing and Production, Sales and Marketing Kaleo, Mylan, epipen, rival 

Mylan has been under scrutiny over its pricing policy with its branded EpiPen; the pressure told and led to them releasing its own generic form of EpiPen. However, it is soon to be squeezed by pressure exerted from elsewhere – other players in the market. Kaleo’s Auvi-Q is set to hit the market by 14 February and, in a bid to undercut the current pricing of the EpiPen, will be available to a large number of people for free.

This is because Auvi-Q will be covered by health insurance and will not require any payment, whilst people who do not have insurance but earn an annual income of less than $100,000 will also see them the injector be made available for free. The regular price will sit at $360 to those not covered by the previous two options, but that should be a very low number of people as most people are covered by insurance or do not have it because they cannot afford it.

Auvi-Q had previously been on the market under the ownership of Sanofi but was withdrawn over issues to do with dosing. Kaleo returned to the FDA with updated patient data and have been given permission to re-enter the market.

“We met with patients and physicians and listened to the very real challenges in the current healthcare environment with obtaining access to affordable medicines,” said Spencer Williamson, president and CEO of kaléo. “As a result, starting February 14, for more than 200 million Americans with commercial insurance, including those with high-deductible plans, the out-of-pocket cost for AUVI-Q will be $0.”

There can be no question that Kaleo are taking advantage of the current furore surrounding pricing that has also seen CVS make available a generic version of the EpiPen for as little as $10. The list price of Kaleo’s rival is rumoured to be around the $4,500 mark so it will not be cheap for the healthcare agencies but, for the members of the public requiring the purchase, it will represent a huge saving.

Ben Hargreaves

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