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Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

nytimes.com

11–20 of 85 posts

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#11
post #10
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't believe the shareholders committed fraud in purchasing shares, they are punished by the actions of criminals outside of their control. Yet is appears the criminals will go free. If you or I committed $100 Million plus in Medicaid fraud, we would most certainly be in prison. Take back the profits from the shareholders, apply civil asset forfeiture proceedings to the executive staffs assets, and put those respo…

Criminal is a harsh word. It looks like the government just finally balked at Mylan abusing their position. But shareholders had every opportunity to know what the prices were, and what the regulatory climate was. My opinion is that if you invest in pharma, you should know how the market works, or else you might get a haircut. Sure, Mylan aren't on any moral high ground, but the operate the way you would expect a rat…

>If the law allows it, don't expect companies not to do it.

This is outright fraud. The law does not allow it. They purposefully misrepresented their product for financial gain.

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a monopoly. There have been and continue to be other epinephrine auto-injectors from competitors.

Have been, but what else is on the market right now in the US? Why is that? Its not for lack of demand.

The Fda approval favors mylan, making it difficult for others to compete

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#13
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a monopoly. There have been and continue to be other epinephrine auto-injectors from competitors.

Have been, but what else is on the market right now in the US? Why is that? Its not for lack of demand.

Adrenaclick and generic versions of it. It's not a direct substitute, it can't be dispensed to fill an Epipen prescription, but it is the same drug, the same dose, and for the same purpose (emergency administration of epinephrine by lightly trained persons).

http://www.goodrx.com/adrenaclick

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#15
For people using the word "fraud." Fraud requires some misrepresentation of a material fact. Nobody at CMS was unaware of what an Epipen was, depending on Mylan's representations about what was in there. This is a fight over whether Mylan should have checked Box A or Box B. There is a reasonable case to be made for both sides. After all, the drug in an Epipen (epinephrine) is generic.

For people talking about throwing executives in jail, see: http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1249868.html ("In a case where the truth or falsity of a statement centers on an interpretive question of law, the government bears the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant's statement is not true under a reasonable interpretation of the law.  United States v. Migliaccio, 34 F.3d 1517, 1525 (10th Cir.1994) (holding that the government bears the burden to negate any reasonable interpretations that would make the defendant's statement correct)").

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#16
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a monopoly. There have been and continue to be other epinephrine auto-injectors from competitors.

Have been, but what else is on the market right now in the US? Why is that? Its not for lack of demand.

Lack of education. Doctors write prescriptions for epipen. If they wrote "epinephrine auto-injector" then people could go to Wal-Mart and buy Adrenaclick.

Perhaps the real problem is Adrenaclick isn't running enough TV commercials.

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#17
post #2

Correction: EpiPen Maker Mylan's Shareholders Will Pay $465M to Settle Medicaid Overcharging Case

Yes, that's the idea, the owners of the company are responsible for the company. Of course, because Mylan is a corporation, the majority of shareholders have limited liability, their largest loss due to the actions of the company would be their investment.

"because Mylan is a corporation"

You say this as if this was always true.

LLC's are a very recent invention. In the past, shareholders and owners of the company were, in fact, liable.

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#18
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Criminal is a harsh word. It looks like the government just finally balked at Mylan abusing their position. But shareholders had every opportunity to know what the prices were, and what the regulatory climate was. My opinion is that if you invest in pharma, you should know how the market works, or else you might get a haircut. Sure, Mylan aren't on any moral high ground, but the operate the way you would expect a rat…

>If the law allows it, don't expect companies not to do it. This is outright fraud. The law does not allow it. They purposefully misrepresented their product for financial gain.

> And if the law doesn't allow it, but the regulators never drop the hammer, don't expect people not to do it.

I'm not saying it isn't fraud. I'm saying that its par for the course when regulators rarely take action. Mylan got greedy and got slapped. Regulatory bodies in the US are woefully underfunded and this sort of thing is the result. Blame congress.

Re: Mylan to Settle EpiPen Overpricing Case for $465M

#20
post #14

Satisfying, to say the least. Unlike a $5 million slap on the wrist.

But how many fractions of a percent of their revenue does this really represent?

I'm not sure about revenue, but it represents about 55% of their annual profits.

465M / (EPS of 1.57 * 534.91M shares) = .5537

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