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Generic EpiPens May Be Possible in Ohio
< < Back toCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – An Ohio bill would allow pharmacists to offer a generic and cheaper alternative to lifesaving EpiPens.
The Blade reports the bill introduced last week by state Rep. Derek Merrin would allow substitution only with the patient’s permission. Doctors still can insist on the brand-name EpiPen.
Merrin, a Republican, says he sees the bill as a national model, “free-market solution” to the Mylan pricing issue.
Mylan Pharmaceuticals came under fire last year for gradually raising the retail price more than 400 percent to $600 for a two-pen pack.
State Sen. David Burke, a Republican and the only pharmacist in the General Assembly, says he knows of no instance where substitution of the drug, delivered through a different spring mechanism than used in the Mylan product, has caused harm.