Have You Heard About This Generic EpiPen Maker?

Mylan NV MYL is the latest pharmaceutical company to come under government scrutiny.

Mylan is the maker of a device that provides epinephrine in the event of anaphylaxis — also known as the EpiPen. According to Fortune, Mylan built the EpiPen from a "weakening enterprise" in 2007 to become a "pile of money" segment that reportedly accounts for 50 percent of the company's total operating profits.

However, since 2007 the company boosted the price of the EpiPen by 400 percent, which actually looks "meager" compared to the "whopping" 671 percent salary increase Mylan handed its CEO Heather Bresch over the same time period.

Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the judiciary committee, reached out to both Bresh and the company asking them to explain the justification behind a 400 percent increase in its product.

Related Link: Teva Says Its Generic EpiPen Will Be "Significantly Delayed"

Generic EpiPen Maker

Antares Pharma Inc ATRS, a small-cap specialty pharmaceutical company, saw its shares jump 12 percent on Tuesday. The company supplies Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (ADR) TEVA with its own generic version of the EpiPen that has yet to be approved for use by the U.S. Federal Drug Administration (FDA).

Antares said in a presentation in early January that it has received questions from the FDA as part of a standard ongoing active review of the application for its generic version of EpiPen. The company also said in the same presentation that Teva expects approval of an AB rated (generically equivalent rated) product "at the earliest in 2H16."

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