The makers of the EpiPen competitor Auvi - Q have announced plans to bring their product back to pharmacy shelves in February — at a jaw - droppingly high sticker damage . They claim , however , that the high monetary value wo n’t be shoulder by consumer .
motorcar - injectors like the EpiPen and Auvi - Q are often the only affair standing between people with severe allergies and death . The devices deliver a fast - acting superman of epinephrine that can forestall someone from buy the farm into , or dying from , anaphylactic blow . In other words , they ’re not optional . But they are very , very expensive .
The price of EpiPens has increased more than450 percentin the last decade or so , and a two - pack will cost the consumer about $ 600 — even if they have health insurance . The new government - mandatedgeneric versioncosts $ 300 .
CV apothecary’s shop recently threw their lid into the ring with atruly generic versionthat retail for $ 109.99 . The chain be after to propose a prescription discount program for low - income households that will bring the price for some customers down to just $ 10 .
Now get along the Auvi - Q , which wasrecalled in 2015due to its potential for extradite inaccurate dosages . At the time , its price was comparable with the EpiPen ’s . When it returns on February 14 , manufacturing business Kaleo has set the price of two car - injectors at $ 4500 — a hefty price hike , to say the least .
Kaleo CEO Spencer Williamsontold CNBCthat there was a method to the Auvi - Q ’s idea - boggling cost . He noted that the actual price to consumers would be much lower : devoid for those with commercial-grade insurance and uninsured house realize less than $ 100,000 , and $ 360 for those without indemnity above that income cap .
Insurers , however , have to be on board for the pricing anatomical structure to work , and whether they will be remains to be seen . " We believe the most important price is the price to the patient , " Williamson sound out . " No epinephrin auto - injector , branded or even generic , will cost a commercially insured patient less out of scoop than Auvi - Q. "
Time will tell .
