Mylan is trying to finalize a $465 million settlement with the federal government for Medicaid overcharges. The investigation involves the classification of EpiPen as a generic rather than a branded product, which led to significantly smaller rebates to state Medicaid programs. Mylan’s announcement earlier this year of a near doubling of the price for a pair of EpiPen injectors to $600 set off criticism from patients and families.
The company said it expects EpiPen to account for 6% of total sales in 2017.
As initially announced, the deal would see Mylan admit no responsibility but resolve allegations that the company misclassified its big-selling epinephrine injector as a generic.
Nevertheless, Mylan CFO Kenneth Scott Parks said on the company’s third-quarter conference call Wednesday that Mylan is working to finalize the settlement and put the allegations behind it. The Senate Judiciary Committee just this week called on the Federal Trade Commission to look into whether Mylan used anticompetitive practices to pad its EpiPen sales.
Mylan has also placed some of the blame with a complex pharmaceutical pricing and distribution system in the U.S. that incentivizes higher costs for some players. Bresch said on Wednesday that the company understands that “the current system, which we didn’t create but which we must compete in, was not built for consumerism.”
Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers.
