Powers Principal Bill von Oehsen was quoted in an article discussing how the pharmaceutical company Mylan is working to drive sales of its EpiPen product.
The STAT article titled “As a competitor encroached, Mylan took one state to court to push EpiPen sales, documents show,” examines how the pharmaceutical company behind the EpiPen — an epinephrine auto-injector used to halt potentially life-threatening allergic reactions — sued a state in an effort to get its product purchased.
According to the article, in 2015 West Virginia tried to save taxpayers an estimated $1 million by encouraging doctors to prescribe a cheaper alternative to the EpiPen. The committee of doctors, pharmacists, and healthcare professionals that determines that list of preferred drugs in West Virginia voted to take the EpiPen off of the preferred list and replace it with its competitor the Auvi-Q.
In response, the company sued the state to stop the changes and to have the device remain at the “preferred” status. Under this status, the device would be paid for by Medicaid, according to the article, and Medicaid recipients would have to get special approval for coverage of devices not on the “preferred” list.
Mylan argued that even though the committee held an open meeting where it voted on the change, the real decision to make the change happened in private, according to the article. The state disagreed, saying the company’s motive was profit driven.
Bill is quoted discussing this lawsuit and the likeliness that Mylan would move forward with the lawsuit, despite it being a challenging case for the company to win. To read the full article, click here. Bill has extensive experience in general health law, legislation and policy, especially in the areas of pharmaceutical pricing, food and drug law, materials management, managed care and third party reimbursement.
For more information regarding this lawsuit or drug pricing, contact Bill von Oehsen at 202-872-6765 or William.vonOehsen@powerslaw.com.