Re:How Parents Harnessed the Power of Social Media to Challe...
by ghshephard on Thursday August 25, 2016 @11:14PM
(#12364052)
To be clear - the patents on epinephrine expired decades ago. (Epininephrine itself was synthesized over 100 years ago). What are still relevant are the patents on the auto-injector. http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:QZ6wy6b...
Designing and testing a new injector is expensive and time consuming. There are certainly new devices coming to market, so the window for Mylan to make money is pretty minimal.
In the meantime, there are substitutes that are much cheaper. You can purchase an Adrenaclick from Walmart for $140.
http://www.consumerreports.org/drugs/how-to-get-cheaper-epip...
One of the biggest reasons is that it's not patent protected. Once a few generic versions hit the market, every manufacturer tries to grab market share by dropping the price. The price of a branded drug usually drops by 80-90% once the generic becomes available.
It looks like an attractive market right now, but once a few generics get launched, it won't be as attractive. Mylan is only making hand over fist because others failed to launch their copies.