By now most of us have voiced our anger over the high-handed tactics
of Mylan and their disdain for folks whose lives are dependent on the
Epipen.
And by now we have learned that Epipen and many of the life saving
drugs were developed by tax dollars and then stolen by corporations
such as Mylan. And by now most of us have signed at least one of the
many petitions floating around the internet. But perhaps we have
forgotten that one signature is not going to turn the tide. Mylan and
other Drug Czars will keep the pressure on Congress to protect their
favored position. We must also be prepared to keep up our pressure
and redouble our efforts to change the laws that allow our hard earned
dollars to be snatched away and stored in some off-shore account. If
Mylan were a common thief, sticking a gun in your ribs, demanding your
wallet, and you made a wrong move and the robber shot you, and killed
you, he would be charged, and hopefully convicted of murder. Mylan is
holding the Epipen and other life saving drugs over the heads of
people who cannot afford the price. These people are being murdered
just as surely as you who had the robber's gun in your back. Mylan
officials need to be brought to trial by the American People, and
their privileged immunity taken away from them.
Carl Jarvis
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Sellers via Other 98% <info@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2016 13:41:42 +0000
Subject: EpiPen: We are coming for your monopoly
To: carjar82@xxxxxxxxx
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carl,
For millions of folks with allergies and asthma, EpiPens are literally
a lifesaver in an emergency. The American taxpayer funded the creation
of the EpiPen, which was developed for the armed forces as the
"ComboPen."
But for Mylan, a giant pharmaceutical corporation, EpiPens are just
another cash cow. Mylan has jacked up the price of EpiPen by more than
400 percent - while their CEO’s pay went up by over 7,000%. Now that
the public has cried foul, including over 100,000 folks who joined
Other98 in demanding they cut the price, Mylan’s running scared.
This is the perfect moment to take advantage of Big Pharma’s
increasingly bad PR to make a serious, systemic change: busting up the
EpiPen monopoly. The White House has the power; join us in demanding
they exercise it.
On Thursday morning Mylan responded to the massive outcry by claiming
they’ll cut EpiPen’s price in half. But under the surface, the company
didn’t actually change the price at all. The price cuts only apply to
uninsured and underinsured consumers, who will get a $300 savings card
on the $600. This move is nothing but PR, and it does nothing to fix
the problem of skyrocketing drug costs; in fact, it’s a great deal for
Mylan: savings card programs like this one increase demand and allow
drug corporations to charge higher prices by hiding behind their fake
altruism.
So let’s get right to heart of it: Join us in calling on President
Obama and the FDA to take action now to end abusive monopolies and
rein in the skyrocketing prices of lifesaving medications like
EpiPens.
President Obama has the power to bust up Pharma monopolies on life
saving medicines, and the EpiPen is a great start. With the stroke of
a pen, he can instruct the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to strip
Mylan of its EpiPen monopoly, allowing other companies to produce it
at a lower cost. And we’re joining up with CREDO and Social Security
Works to make sure the President hears us loud and clear.
The costs of lifesaving medicines has risen by double digits in recent
years, and in many cases, including Epipen, significant taxpayer
resources were involved in the original creation of the medications
Big Pharma is now shamelessly profiteering from. If we can get the FDA
to strip Mylan’s monopoly over EpiPen, it will set an incredibly
powerful precedent and finally set us on the road to making
life-saving drugs a public good, not a product to make a few CEOs
very, very rich.
Tell the President and the FDA: This price gouging must end! It's time
to bust up the Big Pharma monopolies that are rigging the system
against the American people.
Thanks for everything you do to challenge the corporate control of our
Healthcare system.
John Sellers
Other98
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