Auvi-Q, an EpiPen competitor, is set to return to the market in 2017, offering a low-cost epinephrine auto-injector after controversy over price increases for the EpiPen.
The Auvi-Q auto-injector made by Kaleo gives those who struggle with severe allergies another treatment option, which Kaleo CEO Spencer Williamson said will come at a “very, very low” cost, USA Today reported.
This could put pressure on Mylan Speciality, the maker of EpiPen, as they’ve received criticism from members of Congress as well as parents for their major price increases, USA Today noted.
According to new data, EpiPen prescriptions have increased, which has frustrated many parents who have high deductible insurance plans.
Kaleo is working to ensure that the same problem won’t apply to the Auvi-Q, as Williamson has been meeting with drug wholesalers, pharmacy benefit managers, and insurance companies to bring the prices down as low as possible. A price hasn’t been agreed upon yet.
“It is not in the best interest of patients or physicians to have high out-of-pocket costs,” Williamson said, per Forbes. “We’re engaging with all of the stakeholders — wholesalers and pharmacy benefits managers — to insure that we can provide this innovative technology to patients and that they can afford it. And we are going to assure that the out-of-pocket is going to be low for patients.”
Drugmaker Sanofi recalled the Auvi-Q late last year amid concerns about incorrect dosing, a problem that has since then been fixed thanks to new technological investments, USA Today noted.
Epinephrine auto injectors treat life-threatening allergic reactions — reactions that lead to “shortness of breath, rashes and nausea,” USA Today noted.
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