[karmelapple]

She pointed out most money spent on EpiPen has been going to getting laws on the books (in 48 states!) to allow non-designated EpiPens to be available in schools and other public places.

Wouldn't there be other good ways to ensure everyone has access? Eliminate the need for a prescription for instance? How does one go about doing that?

[maxerickson]

She doesn't say that most money has been going to the laws. She says they have expended resources on lobbying for those laws without specifying how much.

The CNN video that plays at this links says their margins were 9% in 2007 when the bought the drug and 55% in 2014.

http://money.cnn.com/2016/08/25/investing/epipen-cost-ceo-lo...

Any business with 55% margin is a nice business to be in.

It's also kind of scandalous that they've designed a method to reach around the insurance companies. I don't think drug companies should be allowed to offer consumers rebates that make them more likely to utilize their insurance. When they start from a high price, it's an accounting trick that doesn't cost the company anything. If a company so strongly believes they've miss-priced their product, they can simply reduce the price.

[karmelapple]

True statement - she doesn't say most. However, she stresses how most of their effort is going towards laws. There was a mention of some slight improvement to the injector, but the formulation certainly has not changed.

Going around the insurance companies is pretty insane, especially because there are multiple types of customers: individuals, schools, hospitals, etc. Should an individual get money back, but not a school? It's not like public schools have a bunch of cash lying around.

[maxerickson]

I looked up the law for Michigan (http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2013-2014/publicact/...). It doesn't just allow non designated epinephrine auto-injectors, it requires them in any building with 10 or more staff.

There's only 900 public schools though, so it's hard to construe lobbying for the laws as a meaningful expansion of their market.

[raverbashing]

I really can't imagine the rationale of making something needed in an (common) emergency needing a prescription.

[TheBeardKing]

Maybe they want to limit them to people with allergies to try and prevent crazy epinephrine sprees like Jason Statham in Crank. /s