Senators ask FTC for review of EpiPen maker Mylan

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A letter from two U.S. senators to the Federal Trade Commission asked for a review of Mylan N.V., makers of the EpiPen.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., each on the Senate Judiciary Committee, called for an investigation Monday of whether Mylan engaged in anticompetitive practices when it allegedly wrote school contracts restricting purchases of EpiPen competitors.

In a related matter, Sen. Grassley, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., called on Mylan, in another letter, to reimburse the Defense Department after reported overcharging for the injector.

"We are alarmed that Mylan may have overcharged our military for this life-saving drug," the senators wrote in latter Monday to Mylan CEO Heather Bresch.

EpiPen is an injectable, hand-held device for use by those who have severe allergies; it delivers epinephrine, an emergency treatment for anaphylactic reaction. Mylan, based in suburban Pittsburgh, came under heavy criticism for an increase in the cost of the device since it bought the product in 2007. The Wall Street Journal, citing Truven Health Analytics, said Tuesday the cost, as of August, for a two-pack of the device was over $600, a more than six-fold increase in cost since 2007.

Mylan increased copay assistance for some customers and announced a genetic alternative product selling for about $300 per two-pack. In October it agreed to pay $465 million to resolve issues about Medicaid rebates.