CVS rivals EpiPen with generic version sold at 6th of the price
CVS is now selling a generic version of Mylan's EpiPen at about a sixth of its price.
This comes just months after the maker of the life-saving allergy treatment was questioned before Congress because of its soaring cost to consumers.
The drugstore chain says it will charge just under $110 for a two-pack of the authorized generic version of Adrenaclick, a lesser-known treatment compared to EpiPen, which can cost more than $600.
CVS Health Corporation, the nation's second-largest drugstore chain, says it cut the price of the generic version of Adrenaclick nearly in half.
The lower price is now available at all CVS stores. The chain runs about 9,600 retail pharmacies in the United States, including several locations inside Target stores.
RELATED: Epipen price hike forces local families to look for alternatives
The emergency treatments are stocked by schools and parents of children with severe allergies. They are used to stop anaphylaxis, the potentially fatal allergic reactions to insect bites and stings and foods like nuts and eggs.
The syringes are filled with the hormone epinephrine, and they expire after a year. That often forces patients to fill new prescriptions even if they never used the old one.
Mylan N.V. began taking heat late last summer for its EpiPen pricing, which climbed more than 500 percent since 2007.
A Congressional panel grilled CEO Heather Bresch in September about the soaring cost, which she has blamed in part on insurers, pharmacy benefits managers and other middlemen that stand between the drugmaker and the customer.
Mylan has since expanded the financial aid it offers customers and launched its own authorized generic version in December, priced at $300 per two-pack.
But patients who are unaware of that financial aid or those with high deductible plans or no health insurance at all, may have no choice but to dish out the full cost of the drug.
CVS said the new low price of the generic Adrenaclick is what customers can expect to pay at the pharmacy counter whether they are insured or not.
