There are two problems keeping the price of EpiPen and its peers high. First, it’s a combination of a drug (epinephrine) and the device that delivers the drug. This drug-device combination is governed by a complex web of regulations that prevented the significant price drops you would expect when new competitors are introduced. And second, across the US health system, more of the cost of medical care is being passed on to patients, via high-deductible health plans and other benefit design changes, which means that many people are still exposed to high costs even if the topline price for epinephrine has started to come down.
That second argument is “It’s expensive because people have to pay for it”.
The answer to the first one is, of course, abolish the FDA.
Complex set of regulations, indeed. The government is chocking the citizens with outrageous requirements, regulations and rules that harm citizens simply because the bureaucrats can get away with it.
Most allergies are an urban myth. Have you ever heard of someone brought up on a farm having hay fever?
If I recall correctly, the problem with the epicenter is that the pen is patented.
And the design is such that it seems impractical to create a non-infringing design.
That generally means that the patent is too broad to be valid…
When I was growing up in the 60s, you never heard of allergic reactions*, certainly not to the point where somebody opening a packet of peanuts in the same room would kill you. I claim (based on nothing) that children are no longer exposed to anything outdoors.
* maybe bee stings? And hay fever, but nothing fatal!