Sandoz launches EpiPen rival with 16.5% price reduction
As had been expected, Sandoz announced that its generic rival to Mylan’s EpiPen (epinephrine) will launch in the US with a list price of $250 (€219).
The pricing for Sandoz’s Symjepi is 16.5% lower than both Teva’s newly launched rival to the EpiPen and Mylan’s own generic version, which are each priced at $300 per pack.
Further than a reduction in price, Sandoz is also promoting the size of its device as an advantage compared to its competitors’ products. A Sandoz spokesperson told us that Symjepi is small enough to fit in the palm of user’s hands.
Sandoz will initially introduce the product in the institutional setting before rolling out a wider commercial launch.
The spokesperson said, “We are actively preparing for US introduction into the retail market to enable patients to get this life-saving medicine at their local pharmacies, and for the launch of the Symjepi 0.15 mg Injection.”
“For competitive reasons we cannot share our commercial plans or timing prior to the launch,” the spokesperson added.
Symjepi, and rival epinephrine injectors, is used to treat allergic reactions (Type 1), including anaphylaxis.
Sandoz product will enter the commercial market at a time when supply issues have been a problem for Mylan. Manufacturing issues at Pfizer’s plant that produces the EpiPen products have led to global shortages of the product.
As a result of the shortages, some national authorities have extended the expiration dates for certain batches of EpiPen products to boost levels of available supply.
The product had also come under scrutiny regarding its price, after US Congress asked Mylan’s CEO, Heather Bresch, to testify over the 548% increase in pricing of the EpiPen product since 2007.
