Political activist Ralph Nader Friday characterized the controversy over the high price of the severe allergy treatment EpiPen as "sort of greed on steroids" and credited strong public opposition to the drug's manufacturer lowering costs for some patients.
"You've got a company that was making good money at $100, and in the last two or three years has jacked it up," Nader told Brooke Baldwin on CNN. "They're getting away with it because there is no generic alternative and the other competitor had problems with dosage and had to withdraw from the market.
"There is a de facto monopoly," he said.
Mylan NV said Thursday that it would reduce EpiPen's out-of-pocket cost through a discount savings card program for some users. The card would cover up to $300 of an EpiPen 2-Pak.
The drug's cost has skyrocketed to $600 from $100 in 2008 — and Mylan has come under fire by members of Congress, with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joining the chorus this week.
Nader, 82, who ran as a Green Party candidate for president in 2000, credited Mylan's move to widespread public outcry via social media.
"Public opinion is coming down hard," he told Baldwin. "They've got to back down under the force of public opinion.
"It's got to be the force of public opinion because there is no time to wait for some regulatory agency to start a lengthy process. It's got to be public outrage."
In addition, Mylan's political action committee has donated more than $60,000 to 11 members of the Senate Judiciary Committee since 1999, NBC News reports.
The Mylan Inc. PAC's contributions since 2014 include: $5,000 to Democrat Patrick Leahy of Vermont and $5,000 to New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, according to Federal Election Commission data reported by NBC.
In total, Leahy's campaign has received $15,000 from the group, while Schumer's has been given $9,500.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican, has received $5,000 donation Mylan PAC in 2006, NBC reports.
Grassley this week called for an investigation into the company's pricing methods in the wake of the controversy.
Mylan PAC has also donated from $100,001 to $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation, NBC reports, though no dates were specified.
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