By Dave Boyer
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
The White House rejected the suggestion Wednesday that President Obama, whose daughter Malia suffers from a peanut allergy, indirectly caused the soaring price of EpiPens by signing legislation in 2013 encouraging schools to stockpile the medicine.
“I’m not aware of any regret,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest said when asked if the president regrets that the legislation may have led to price increasing by increasing demand for the product. The president’s spokesman instead criticized pharmaceutical companies in general for gouging consumers unnecessarily.
“Pharmaceutical companies that often try to portray themselves as the inventors of life-saving medication often do real damage to their reputation by being greedy and jacking up prices in a way that victimizes vulnerable Americans,” Mr. Earnest said. “And it certainly degrades their efforts to build a reputation for themselves as an organization that’s committed to developing and providing life-saving medicine.”
Mr. Earnest had no comment on the fact that the drug company making EpiPens, Mylan NV, is run by CEO Heather Bresch, who is a daughter of Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The firm has raised the price of the medicine by about 400 percent since 2007.
SEE ALSO: Clinton slams EpiPen price hike, calls on drug company to lower cost
The drug-injection Epi-Pens are used to treat patients with severe allergies and usually are administered to counter anaphylactic shock, but the “pens” must be replaced annually if not used.
“I’m not going to second-guess the specific business practices of a private company,” Mr. Earnest said.
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton had no such compunctions though, issuing a statement Wednesday slamming Mylan and charging that the firm is gouging consumers and is putting profit ahead of patients’ health.
“They’re now charging up to $600 for a two-EpiPen set that must be replaced every 12 — 18 months. This both increases out-of-pocket costs for families and first responders, and contributes to higher premiums for all Americans and their employers,” Mrs. Clinton said in a statement that called the EpiPen price “just the latest troubling example of a company taking advantage” of its customers.
“It’s wrong when drug companies put profits ahead of patients, raising prices without justifying the value behind them,” she said.
However, according to a report in the Daily Caller, Mylan was a donor to the Clinton Foundation, with which it had partnered in 2009 over HIV drugs. The company has given the Clinton Foundation, which has been dogged with “pay to play” access-selling charges, between $100,000 and $250,000 at a time the Daily Caller said wasn’t clear from Clinton Foundation records.
If it coincided with the HIV program, the rise in EpiPen prices would have been starting at the time of the donation.
For its part, the White House blamed congressional Republicans for siding with drug companies.
“Unfortunately, all too often, it’s Republicans in Congress who are standing up for pharmaceutical companies and not looking out for taxpayers and patients here in the United States,” Mr. Earnest said. “There certainly is more that we believe can and should be done in general to address the question of rising prescription drug prices.”
Mr. Obama signed a law in November 2013 providing states with financial incentives to boost the stockpile of epinephrine at schools. The law, which took two years to be approved by Congress, came after students in Illinois and Virginia died after eating peanuts and suffering anaphylactic reactions.
“This is something that will save children’s lives,” Mr. Obama said at a bill-signing ceremony. “Some people may know that Malia actually has a peanut allergy.”
The School Access to Emergency Epinephrine Law provides a financial incentive for states that require schools to maintain a supply of the medication. States that allow trained personnel to administer the drug in schools receive preferential consideration for federal asthma-treatment grants.
At the time, only four states — Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada and Virginia — required schools to stock epinephrine. About 20 other states allowed schools to stock the medication but didn’t require it.
⦁ Ben Wolfgang contributed to this report.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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