North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson reached an $11 million settlement with Mylan, now part of pharmaceutical company Viatris, regarding alleged overpayments for EpiPens, according to an April 30 news release.
Mylan has handled the marketing and distribution of EpiPen Auto-Injectors in the U.S. The news release from Mr. Jackson’s office said a two-pack of EpiPens cost roughly $100 in 2007 but increased to about $600 by 2016.
“They used their control of the market to keep competitors out and drive the price up,” Mr. Jackson said. “That’s not legal. We made them pay it back.”
Under the settlement, North Carolina Medicaid and the state health plan will each get $4.2 million. The state health plan covers more than 750,000 North Carolina workers, retirees and their family members.
The settlement resolves allegations of anti-competitive strategies and misclassification under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program.
The pharmaceutical company will increase its copay coupon for the authorized generic version of EpiPen from $25 to $40, as well.
“This was a resolution of allegations concerning events that occurred more than 10 years ago. The company continues to deny the state’s allegations and maintains that it acted lawfully. However, we believe that it is in the company’s best interest to have resolved this matter in order to avoid the burden and expense of litigation,” a spokesperson from Viatris said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “The resolution is in no way an admission of liability or wrongdoing. The company looks forward to working with North Carolina in connection with our affordability programs for the EpiPen Auto-Injector authorized generic.”
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