Canonsburg, Pa.-based Mylan argues the U.S. is wasting billions of dollars on name brand anti-HIV drugs, instead of making generic alternatives, according to Science.
At the International AIDS Conference July 23-27 in Amsterdam, Mylan CEO Heather Bresch cited 90 percent of the drugs distributed in the U.S. are generics, except in the case of antiretrovirals , which are used to treat HIV. Ms. Bresch told Science: "You're looking at 0 percent utilization."
This past February, the FDA approved two Mylan products that contain combinations of popular ARVs. Ms. Bresch claims it currently costs 35,000 a year to treat a person with HIV/AIDS. With the generic brand of ARVs, it will lower that amount by 20 percent.
Ms. Bresch attended the conference with Anil Soni, head of global infectious diseases at Mylan.
"HIV is a huge source of spend," he told Science. ARVs are a $20 billion market in the U.S., yet the government provides more funding than any other country to supply inexpensive versions of ARVs to poorer countries, according to Mr. Soni.
Between 2009-16, Mylan increased the price of their EpiPen from about $100 to about $600, making the drugmaker a surprising addition to the entities calling for lower drug prices, according to Science.
"This isn’t a campaign," Ms. Bresch told the publication, adding that Mylan was created in 1961 to sell a more affordable version of penicillin to patients.
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