EpiPen (syringe handles)

2021: Pfizer will pay a fine of $345 million for a syringe pen with adrenaline

In mid-July 2021, Pfizer agreed to pay $345 million to resolve consumer claims. They argue that due to anticompetitive practices by drugmaker and distributor Mylan, the price of adrenaline pen syringes was EpiPen unreasonably overstated.

The settlement of the collective lawsuit took place in federal court in Kansas City (Kansas). During the meeting, only buyer claims against Pfizer were resolved, and the Mylan distributor will have to answer to the court in January 2022. The plaintiffs' lawyer noted that his clients "are pleased to resolve at least part of this collective lawsuit." Pfizer admitted no wrongdoing. The company said in a statement that it "denies the presence of any violations of the law and continues to consider its actions appropriate in this situation."

Pfizer will pay a fine of $345 million for a syringe handle with adrenaline

EpiPen is a portable syringe pen with adrenaline that is used for emergency therapy of life-threatening allergic reactions. In 2016, Mylan, which owns the rights to sell and distribute these devices, raised the price of the EpiPen from $100 to $600, causing a fierce debate. Buyers accused Pfizer and Mylan of anti-competitive behavior, which allowed them to maintain a monopoly in the market of such devices and receive super-profitable revenues.

The U.S. District Judge previously dismissed most of the claims against Mylan, but not all. In turn, Mylan said that "it is firmly convinced that the company's behavior was legal and contributed to healthy competition." However, in 2017, Mylan already agreed to pay $465 million to settle the claims of the US Department of Justice, according to which the company inflated the price of syringe pens EpiPen for the government.^[1]

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