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David Thompson
Professor Bevill
ENGL 1302-06

EpiPen: A Sharp Conversation

Allergies have always plagued the human race, whether it be a mild reaction or a life
threatening encounter. The body is so complex yet each body tends to have slight defects or
quirks, hence allergies. The wide variety of allergies can span from flowers, animals, and even
food. According to research in 2014 one out of thirteen children suffer from allergies (Zadikoff).
Without treatment reactions to allergens can be very life threatening, luckily someone has
developed a safe form of applying medication for this ago old ailment. This drug is known as an
Epinephrine auto-injector or EpiPen. Naturally this medication is in the hands of humans and is
regulated by a company called Mylan. Here society encounters trouble, Mylan has practically
monopolized the market on this drug. The company Mylan has more than doubled the price for
their auto-injectors which will inhibit schools, businesses, and most importantly households from
purchasing lifesaving medication and lead to more deaths from untreated anaphylaxis.
The difference between a severe allergic reaction and anaphylaxis is when the airway
becomes affected. So Anaphylaxis is just a more advanced form of a severe allergic reaction. The
airway becomes a problem when the bronchial tubes, cartilage around the airway, becomes
constricted. Here is where the Epinephrine becomes needed. The Epinephrine is what is called a
bronchial dilator, which in a sense expands the airway back to its original size allowing air
through to the lungs. Just like most drugs, Epinephrine has some side effects, such as an

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increased heart rate. This wildly important medicine needs a way to be applied by anybody and
thats why the auto-injector was invented.
An EpiPen consists of a safe syringe completely incased in plastic armed with a decent
sized spring to inject the medicine upon application. To use the EpiPen one would simply
remove the safety pin that keeps it from unintended use, then firmly apply pressure to the outer
thigh. In this moment the spring would fire and the needle would push into the skin and force the
medication into the body. To properly use it you must keep the pen firmly pressed to the skin for
approximately ten seconds. Although the EpiPen can be used only once it contains almost five
doses of epinephrine. The design of the EpiPen is quite simple, safe, and effective. This patent
for the auto-injector has been around for quite some time. According to the FDA website the
patent for the EpiPen was approved in 1987 (FDA.org). The actual design of the auto-injector
itself seems to be quite efficient, but the error is in the company.
Through that time the patent has been passed from company to company until finally
landing in the hands of Mylan in 2007. When Mylan bought the EpiPen it cost just under one
hundred dollars and now a pair costs $608. That is over a 400% increase (Atwater). In his article
in Time Magazine, Atwater compares the price increase of Mylan to Martin Shkreli, who
increased the price of the AIDS drug radically (Atwater). Mylan has very little competition in the
auto-injector market, so Mylan can almost monopolize this aspect of the pharmaceutical industry.
So if there are approximately fifteen million Americans that suffer from food allergies alone
(FARE). That means that if each person with a food allergy were to buy a pair of EpiPens at the
rate of $608 that would come to a total of 9.12 trillion dollars. Now we know that not everyone
will be buying an EpiPen that is still quite a large number and there is no way that number would
be needed just to run the company. So even if you look at it in a pure number sense and

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completely dehumanize it, it still doesnt make sense. No matter what economic status families
are defined as these prices could affect their budget. How Mylan reacts to this outcry of the
American people could be incredibly beneficial or devastating.
Without research one would believe that it is the medicine itself that has inflated the price
of the EpiPen but epinephrine isnt very expensive at all. If we follow the general rules of society
we would assume that since epinephrine isnt expensive that there is quite a large amount of it.
Since there is a large amount of it and it can be obtained easily this just stirs the pot of the
political side of things even more and enrages citizens. With upset citizens the government will
demand a regulation to be put into place, but some would argue that would infringe upon the
ideal of the free enterprise. Although if a company was to have a monopoly of a certain market,
just like Mylan does, it is arguable that the monopoly is also infringing upon the idea of free
enterprise. So it is a fine line to walk between regulation of the monopoly and infringement of
free enterprise. Either system just proves the point that we need a better system for the
betterment of the country and most importantly the people suffering from allergies.
Lower class citizens and school districts struggle to buy this life saving medication due to
the lofty inflation from Mylan. If families and school districts cannot afford the EpiPen there will
be an increase in untreated anaphylaxes cases and it is quite life threatening. The logic is quite
simple if a school district cannot afford something they just wont have it, so if the district
doesnt have the medication students cant be treated for a life threatening disease. So children
will die from anaphylaxis even though it is a highly treatable condition and it can simply be
helped with modern medicine. With the advances in modern medicine we should be a preventing
deaths not causing them. So just because a company increased their price on an inexpensive drug

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children could die from severe allergic reactions. That is a harsh reality to live with but it is a
reality none the less.
Through all these facts there is a relationship, a simply cause and effect that can be
delved into much deeper than just the surface of what can be seen without research. By looking
at the statistics of common allergies it makes people aware of the magnitude of these decisions
that Mylan has made to their company in the last few months. Thats not even mentioning the
fact that most people have to have several EpiPens with them not just one, because anaphylaxis
can be bad enough that it could require more than one dose of epinephrine. So this all just paints
a vivid picture of how much America needs a full solution to this problem with the EpiPen, or at
least several partial solutions to lighten the load of stress on the American citizens that suffer
from allergies. I am positive that either the citizens of America will be disruptive enough to bring
about change through pharmaceutical reform, or the company Mylan will relent and provide an
easier way for citizens to receive their life saving medication. Hopefully a course will be set out
for America that will help its citizens in this way and blaze a trail for other issues to be solved in
this sphere of thought.

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Works Cited
Atwater, Peter. "The Wild Epipen Price Hike Points To A Looming Pharmaceutical Crisis." Time
188.10/11 (2016): 32. Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.
"Drugs@FDA: FDA Approved Drug Products." Drugs@FDA: FDA Approved Drug Products.
N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
FARE - Food Allergy Research &Amp; Education. FARE - Food Allergy Research &Amp;
Education, www.foodallergy.org/facts-and-stats).
Zadikoff, Emily H., et al. "The Development And Implementation Of The Chicago Public
Schools Emergency Epipen Policy." Journal Of School Health 84.5 (2014): 342-347.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.