A tough past year for Mylan, the much-maligned makers of the EpiPen, just got even tougher; The pharmaceutical giant has issued a recall of EpiPens in seven countries, including the United States after two consumers claim their EpiPen did not work when administered during an allergic episode. The EpiPen’s being recalled were distributed between December 2015 and July 2016 and includes the EpiPen Jr. in the United States. The recall does not include Mylan’s cheaper generic version that the company released late last year.
The recall of the emergency anti-allergy medicine spans North America, Europe, Asia and South America. Mylan calls the incidents “extremely rare,” but in the case of a life-saving drug that is administered in emergency situations even one defective product is too many. The St.Louis, Missouri-based company initially did not include the United States in the recall, but later added them to the list. In all, the recall stems from 13 lots distributed during the recall window. Consumers can check the side of the EpiPen box to see if their unit falls within the recalled bunch.
Mylan has caught a lot of heat over the past year for raising prices on consumers. With no competitor on the market, Mylan had continually bumped the costs of their EpiPens, peaking at over $600 — a 600% increase in price since Mylan bought the rights to the drug in 2007. Mylan was also fined $465 million by the US government for scamming Medicare and Medicaid.
(Via Gizmodo)