After Mylan CEO Heather Bresch blamed the pharmaceutical "middlemen" for causing the high price of EpiPens in an interview Thursday, Steve Miller, MD, CMO of Express Scripts, countered that her statement couldn't be "farther from the truth," reported CNBC.
During her interview, Ms. Bresch argued that intermediaries like wholesalers, retailers and pharmacy benefit managers add to the final cost of EpiPens.
Dr. Miller responded to her comments in a later interview with CNBC, saying Express Scripts would love to see lower drug prices.
"If she wants to lower the price she can lower the price today," said Dr. Miller. "We'd pass the savings that we take from the marketplace back to our plans."
Within the past 18 months, Express Scripts' copays for EpiPens have only increased from $73.03 to $73.50, according to Dr. Miller.
"Mylan has a monopoly and we've seen this time and time again. Because when companies have a monopoly for that temporary part of time, we actually can't have the free market work," said Dr. Miller. "We can't pit competition against each other and drive down the price, and she's capitalizing on it."
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